An attempt by social commentator Kevin O’Brien Chang to make Louise Bennett Coverley, Miss Lou, Jamaica’s first National Icon through the recently launched Jamaica House Petition Portal appears to be on the brink of failure.

The petition needs 15,000 signatures from the public by September 7 to trigger a response from the Office of the Prime Minister. As of yesterday, the petition had only attracted 618 signatures.

Chang said that if more people had known that there was a petition to make Miss Lou a National Icon, the number of signatures would have surpassed its target.

“It’s because there is no organisation pushing it. People are still not aware there is a petition,” Chang said. “Since the Save Cockpit Country petition started three days ago, Miss Lou’s votes have doubled because people are going on the portal and seeing the Miss Lou petition also,” he said.

Chang said that if a fraction of the people who were enthralled by the Ishawna tablecloth fracas signed the petition, the target could have been achieved in a day.

“Muta (Mutabaruka) had a video where he was talking about what Miss Lou means, and it had more than 30,000 views,” Chang said.

According to Chang, National Icons should be the country’s second-highest award, falling right below the country’s national heroes.

“An icon is somebody who contributed tremendously to the country in whatever way, but also, more than that, they are instantly recognizable. They become a part of the psyche of people,” Chang told THE WEEKEND STAR.