The canary in the coal mine ...

Colin Kaepernick flanked by Eli Harold (left) and Eric reid, October 2016.

Out at the museum last week, the youth brigade --- Karoline and Trae --- tackled the coal mine, a replica just off a lower level room called, logically enough, the Mine Gallery. It serves as a reminder of an industry that was very important to Lucas County's economy and culture from the 1880s until well into the 20th century.

One of the smaller artifacts involved in this major clean-up, straighten-up and repaint effort is a somewhat bedraggled fake canary in a cage. 

It serves as a reminder of the common practice in the mine industry from soon after the turn of the 20th century onward --- before air quality monitoring equipment was developed --- of miners carrying canaries into mines to check carbon monoxide levels. If the canary died, the miners exited as rapidly as possible and remedial efforts began.

So it occurred to me over the weekend --- as protests wracked several U.S. cities, including Minneapolis and Des Moines, in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder --- of some who have warned in peaceful ways, like that canary, that such outcomes were possible, even likely, but were scorned for their efforts and ignored.

Remember Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers quarterback, who "took a knee" in peaceful protest during performances of the national anthem commencing in 2016 and inspired others to do the same in the face of racial injustice. White outrage. Our current president, still perhaps sheltering in his White House bunker this morning, called upon the NFL during 2017 to fire players who protested during the anthem. 

Step back 50 years to 1968 when Mexico Summer Olympics medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their black-gloved hands during an awards ceremony to protest racial injustice. White outrage, expelled from the Olympics, medals taken away.

Brent Musburger, writing for the Chicago American long before rising to national prominence as a sports commentator, described Smith and Carlos as "a couple of black-skinned storm troopers" who were "ignoble," "juvenile," and "unimaginative."

And so it goes --- and still does. The warnings small and large of festering tension as white folks dismiss black aspirations have been plentiful for at least 150 years. So why are we surprised at developments during the past week?