THE BRITISH Association of Social Workers (BASW) has written to the Royal Family urging it to change the imagery on one of Britain’s highest honours.

The Order of St Michael and St George is awarded to ambassadors and diplomats and senior Foreign Office officials who have served abroad.

However BASW is calling for a redesign of the medal because it appears to depict a white angel standing on the neck of a chained black man.

It says that the image is reminiscent of the killing of George Floyd who died after white police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. 

Police brutality

Floyd’s death led to protests against police brutality and racism across the world. 

The letter, written by BASW UK Chair, Geraldine Nosowska, and signed by several leading social work professionals, says: “You will undoubtedly be aware of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the current moment of national and international tension that we are all living through. Racial tensions are not new, nor sadly is racism. However, public debate about racism has been marginalised and muted for many years.

Concern

“One instance that has come to our attention is of direct concern to the Royal family. This is the KCMG medal – ‘The most distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George’ –awarded for service to the United Kingdom. What concerns us is the image on the front of this medal.

The award portrays St. Michael trampling on Satan. However, in the majority of versions, including the current iteration of this award, it appears that ‘Satan’ is depicted as a black man. St Michael is uniformly portrayed as white.

Distressing

“The white ‘Angel’s’ foot is portrayed as being on the neck of a black ‘Satan’. The resonance of this image with the way that George Floyd was killed this year in the United States of America is impossible to ignore and viscerally distressing.”

The letter went on: “As you know, George Floyd’s murder by white police officers has caused huge unrest, not only in the U.S.A but across the world. This has led to very many culturally accepted images being seen with new clarity in the U.K. Statues to slavers have fallen, and our colonial history is being re-evaluated by many who had hitherto never questioned this. 

“The KCMG medal can at many levels be read as a reward for colonialism. It might be argued that it no longer rewards this, and should be understood as an award for diplomatic service for our country. The image on this award does not support that reading. Rather it is a small yet insidious reminder of the long racist and colonial roots of our culture.”

The BASW letter comes in the wake of a petition on change.org to ‘Change the racist image on the KCMG medal’.

George Floyd’s murder by white police officers has caused huge unrest, not only in the U.S.A but across the world. This has led to very many culturally accepted images being seen with new clarity in the U.K. Statues to slavers have fallen, and our colonial history is being re-evaluated by many who had hitherto never questioned this. 

BASW letter to the Royal Family

The petition now has over 17, 095 of its 25,000 target. 

Jamaica’s Governor-General Patrick Allen, the British monarchy’s representative in Jamaica, recently announced that he was suspending the personal use of the insignia of the Order of St. Michael and St. George because of its offensive implications.

Global rejection

In his statement, Allen said the suspension follows his acknowledgment of concerns raised by “citizens over the image on the medal, and the growing global rejection of the use of objects that normalize the continued degradation of people of color”.

Allen sent a letter to the Chancellor of the Order of St. Michael and St. George requesting a revision of the image, recommending that it be “changed to reflect an inclusive image of the shared humanity of all peoples,” the statement said.