"The monkey thing has become a big issue," Cheatham said, referring to a controversial New York Post cartoon. He also noted how someone in Florida recently slipped a book on monkeys into a Barnes & Noble window display otherwise devoted to Barack and Michelle Obama.
Monkey slurs seem to be making a comeback. But was this mural actually one of them?
Artist Linda DePalma, who could not be reached for comment, based the picture, right down to the animals' bow ties, on a mechanical monkey in the society's historic toys collection. The suspected cornrows are actually black-and-white stripes (though you could take them for cornrows if you wanted to).
So why did the society take it down? Director Rob Rogers said he took his first good look at the mural at Cheatham's request. He was disturbed - because that mural, like seven others along the Centre Street side of the building, was in terrible shape.
On display since 1997, the plywood-and-paint creations were falling apart. Rogers had a contractor check them out and learned the murals covered damaged windows. He had all eight taken down so the windows can be repaired. The murals will not be put back on display.
"We have exhibitions in this building as well as collection storage," Rogers said. "The reality of water and/or moisture coming in is not something I could just allow. ... I'd love to be able to tell Doc and others that there was something corrected here, but I don't think at the heart there was anything negative when it was put up."
So who did a greater service to society here, Michael Steele or Doc Cheatham?
Steele got us talking about a school that, for all its recent progress, still has a graduation rate below 60 percent. But all he's done is talk.
Cheatham saved monkey-sensitive eyes from offense, got some worn murals off the streets and inadvertently saved historic artifacts from mold.
If only we could pair Steele's schools cause with Cheatham's can-do.
Gender confusion
From the misplaced obsessive attention to detail file: In writing about Fred Bealefeld's missing dog Wednesday, I double-checked Scooby's gender (male) but somehow assumed the police chief's two "kids" were boys. The commish has one boy and one girl. The Baltimore Sun, and this columnist in particular, regret the error.
@baltimoresun.com
