The Clean for the Queen campaign, intended to encourage people to tidy up for Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday, has been accused of dropping a racist clanger.
Posters and T-shirts to promote the drive (pdf), which is taking place this weekend, included the words “spic and span ma’am”, prompting people to suggest that by missing out a “k” on “spic”, the organisers had inadvertently used a racial slur.
The Collins English dictionary refers to “spic” as a “derogatory term for a person from a Spanish-speaking country in South or Central America or a Spanish-speaking community in the US”.
Twitter user @dismalchips contacted the campaign last week, asking: “Are you aware you’ve put a racist term on your asinine posters? You’re missing a k.”
Spic and span ma'am! We're helping @KeepBritainTidy and giving #Barnsleyisbrill a clean up! https://t.co/TxFMeDRzAM pic.twitter.com/bH9rrbgNn9
— Love Where You Live (@LWYLBarnsley) March 3, 2016
Hi, @cleanforqueen. Are you aware you've put a racist term on your asinine posters? You're missing a k. https://t.co/2YMV9A3PHf
— Dismal Chips (@DismalChips) March 2, 2016
Adrian Evans, the campaign director, denied the wording was offensive. “It is an ancient phrase, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, which suggests two options on spelling,” he told the Mail on Sunday. “Spic and span means neat and clean – which sums up our campaign perfectly.”
Clean for the Queen was created by Keep Britain Tidy and Country Life as a way of encouraging people to participate in litter-picking events to “show our gratitude to Her Majesty”.
Billed as the largest ever cleanup of the British environment, schools, community groups, individuals, charities, companies, local authorities and parish councils are being encouraged to take part.
The event has been backed by the government and politiciams including Michael Gove and Boris Johnson have been photographed dressed in purple T-shirts, clutching litter-picking equipment, to publicise events. Neither had the offending word on their T-shirts.
