BELLEFONTE — There’s a controversy brewing in Bellefonte.

Earlier this week, a petition appeared on Change.org to have the Red Raiders mascot and logo removed from Bellefonte Area School District’s schools.

The petition was started by a group of Bellefonte Area High School alumni. As of Friday afternoon, the petition had 1,246 “signatures.” The goal is 1,500, according to the site.

Organizers of the petition claim the current mascot and logo “promote and reinforce bigotry, racism and harmful stereotypes.”

According to the post on Change.org, the petition says that “the Bellefonte community deserves a new school logo and mascot that is anti-racist, anti-bias, all-inclusive, and honors our great community and its history! Our students deserve better than the ‘Red Raider.'”

Once the petition gets to 1,500, it will be presented to the Bellefonte school board and superintendent.

The petition comes in the wake of nationwide unrest following the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee to his neck. The officer was charged with second-degree murder. Floyd’s death has led to an all-out effort to remove symbols of the Confederacy and slavery.

The United States Navy, the United States Marines Corps and NASCAR have embraced bans on the display of the Confederate flag and statues of rebel heroes across the South have been vandalized or taken down, either by protesters or local authorities.

Earlier this week, protesters pulled down a century-old statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond, Va., the former capital of the Confederacy. The 8-foot bronze figure had already been targeted for removal by city leaders, but the crowd took matters into its own hands.

Now, the Bellefonte Red Raider is under fire.

Almost immediately after the petition to remove the Red Raider mascot appeared online, a counter petition to keep the Red Raider mascot popped up. As of Friday afternoon, that petition had 2,228 “signatures.”

According to database of mascots in the United States, there are at least 486 schools that reference “Raiders.” A total of 15 of those schools are in Pennsylvania. About 82 percent of the 486 team names belong to high schools. There are two professional franchise that use Indian mascots — Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians and the National Football League’s Washington Redskins.

Native American groups have protested and asked for the teams to change their respective nicknames — to no avail.

Closer to home, the Indiana University of Pennsylvania changed its name from Indians to Red Hawks several years ago.

The Bellefonte school board is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16. That meeting will be held via Zoom.