Nashville country music trio, Lady Antebellum will now be known as Lady A, following a name change. It comes as internationally, the media and entertainment industries reflect on their histories of racial inequality.
The change follows protests throughout the United States, Australia and other nations, which were sparked after George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police.
Lady A have changed their name due to the connotations with the word “antebellum”. The word refers to the pre-Civil War period in the south of USA, a period where the nation was built on slavery.
The band members acknowledged this and reflected on it in a statement. The statement begins, “We’ve watched and listened more than ever these last few weeks, and our hearts have been stirred with conviction, our eyes opened wide to the injustices, inequality and biases Black women and men have always faced and continue to face everyday. Now, blindspots we didn’t even know existed have been revealed.”
“After much personal reflection, band discussion, prayer and many honest conversations with some of our closest Black friends and colleagues, we have decided to drop the word ‘antebellum’ from our name and move forward as Lady A, the nickname our fans gave us almost from the start.”
Continuing, Lady A said, “When we set out together almost 14 years ago, we named our band after the southern ‘antebellum’ style home where we took our first photos. As musicians, it reminded us of all the music born in the south that influenced us… Southern Rock, Blues, R&B, Gospel and of course Country.
“But we are regretful and embarrassed to say that we did not take into account the associations that weigh down this word referring to the period of history before The Civil War, which includes slavery. We are deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused and for anyone who has felt unsafe, unseen or unvalued”
Alongside Lady A, we’ve seen a range of companies and organisations attempt to right their past wrongs. We’ve seen Chris Lilley’s shows like Summer Heights High and Jonah from Tonga be removed from Netflix and last night, AFL players took a knee in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
