Grammy Award-winning trio Lady Antebellum changed their name to Lady A in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, but that stage name was already being used by a blues singer. Both will now use the name, but isn’t that counterproductive to what the group now claims to be resisting: a sense of social superiority?
In the United States, the term “antebellum” is generally used to refer to the pre-Civil War antebellum South and can be seen as a way of romanticizing “plantation life” during slavery.
In a letter to fans, the group stated, “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.”
The band’s name has long faced criticism, with one critic writing in Ms. magazine in 2011 that it “seems to me an example of the way we still — nearly 150 years after the end of the Civil War, nearly 50 years after the Civil Rights Act; and in a supposedly post-racial country led by a biracial president — glorify a culture that was based on the violent oppression of people of color.”
In changing their name, the band unintentionally tread on Anita White, a blues singer who has performed under the name Lady A for the past 20 years. The Seattle-based singer blasted the country group in an Instagram post saying: “How can you say Black Lives Matter and put your knee on the neck of another Black artist? I’m not mad..I am however not giving up my name, my brand I worked hard for. #GodWillFightMyBattle #TheRealLadyA #LadyABluesSoulFunkGospelArtist #TheTruthIsLoud”
Both artists have decided to keep the name Lady A, coming to an agreement over a private video meeting this week. However, in doing so, will they erase the history that Anita White has created for herself?
In 20 years, when people hear the name Lady A, will they think of the “Need You Now” singers or the blues singer? The country group may have changed their name with good intentions, but they may have also just erased Lady A (White) from history.
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Lady Antebellum Becomes Lady A to Disassociate with Slavery and Racism
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Grammy Award-winning trio Lady Antebellum changed their name to Lady A in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, but that stage name was already being used by a blues singer. Both will now use the name, but isn’t that counterproductive to what the group now claims to be resisting: a sense of social superiority?
In the United States, the term “antebellum” is generally used to refer to the pre-Civil War antebellum South and can be seen as a way of romanticizing “plantation life” during slavery.
In a letter to fans, the group stated, “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.”
The band’s name has long faced criticism, with one critic writing in Ms. magazine in 2011 that it “seems to me an example of the way we still — nearly 150 years after the end of the Civil War, nearly 50 years after the Civil Rights Act; and in a supposedly post-racial country led by a biracial president — glorify a culture that was based on the violent oppression of people of color.”
In changing their name, the band unintentionally tread on Anita White, a blues singer who has performed under the name Lady A for the past 20 years. The Seattle-based singer blasted the country group in an Instagram post saying: “How can you say Black Lives Matter and put your knee on the neck of another Black artist? I’m not mad..I am however not giving up my name, my brand I worked hard for. #GodWillFightMyBattle #TheRealLadyA #LadyABluesSoulFunkGospelArtist #TheTruthIsLoud”
Both artists have decided to keep the name Lady A, coming to an agreement over a private video meeting this week. However, in doing so, will they erase the history that Anita White has created for herself?
In 20 years, when people hear the name Lady A, will they think of the “Need You Now” singers or the blues singer? The country group may have changed their name with good intentions, but they may have also just erased Lady A (White) from history.