Petitioners are calling for the badge for the British Order of St. Michael and St. George, traditionally bestowed by the Queen herself as one of Britain's highest honors, to be redesigned because its depiction of a white angel standing on the neck of a chained Black man resembles the death of George Floyd too much.
The image purportedly shows St. Michael trampling on Satan, reports The Guardian, but the man depicted has neither a horn or tail, critics say.
A petition on Change.org addressed to Britain's Parliament and calling for the medal to be redesigned has already attracted nearly 5,000 signatures.
The Order of St. Michael and St. George is bestowed to ambassadors and diplomats and senior Foreign Office officials who have served abroad. The order was founded in 1818 under King George III had been created to honor service in the Mediterranean during the Napoleonic wars. Buckingham Palace has not commented on the issue.
"This is a highly offensive image, it is also reminiscent of the recent murder of George Floyd by the white policeman in the same manner presented here in this medal," the petition reads. "We the undersigned are calling for this medal to completely redesigned in a more appropriate way and for an official apology to be given for the offense it has given."
Sir Simon Woolley, the director of Operation Black Vote, said he is opposed by the figure because while the original image might have been of St. Michael killing Satan, but the figure on the badge has "no horn or tail and is clearly a Black man. It is even more shocking that that image could be presented to ambassadors representing this country abroad."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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