Controversy

This cement statue was given to me by someone when we (Ken and I ) renovated the inside of their horse barn.  It was left by the previous owners and the current owner wanted to get rid of it.  I offered to purchase it but they gave it to me instead.   It's commonly called a "Jocko" or cement lawn ornament.  The people who gave it to me felt it was extremely racist but I think of it as an antique.  My research reveals that the original "Jocko" could have been tied into the early horse racing days when almost all the jockeys were black.  Another theory is that these or similar statues were used in the 1800's to mark the way for blacks to find the underground railroad.  Still another theory but
totally undocumented is that the a similar statue was erected by Pres. Geo Washington at his home to commemorate an young black boy who froze to death guarding Washington's horses when they attacked Trenton, NJ during the Revolutionary War.  This reinforced cement statue is 40" tall and stands on a 3" base.  Interestingly, the features are  caucasian and not what you would consider "black features."  I've found similar statues on ebay, one of which is very close, that is still manufactured by a company from the 1960's selling for around $140.