Twitter is responding to Lady Antebellum changing its name due to slavery association
Yesterday, June 11th, country-music trio Lady Antebellum announced on social media that they’ve dropped “antebellum” from their name—now officially going by “Lady A.” They explained that they’re making the change because of the word’s association with the Antebellum South, which is the pre-Civil War period during which Black people were enslaved in several Southern states.
The group’s members—Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott, and Dave Haywood—said that they originally named their group Lady Antebellum because they often shot photos inside Southern Antebellum-style homes and were inspired by Southern music. However, now the group states they are “regretful and embarrassed” that they didn’t take into account its associations to slavery.
“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 continued to face every day,” the group said in a June 11th Twitter statement, which was also posted to Instagram.
“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.”
The decision to rethink their band name comes after the weeks of protests in response to the latest unjust killing of an unarmed Black man by police, George Floyd of Minneapolis. Though they realize the decision to change their slavery-associated name pretty late into the game, Kelley, Scott, and Haywood vow to acknowledge their lack of action and turn it into action for change.
Both fans and critics took to Twitter to discuss the band’s transition to Lady A.
Many have been waiting for the name change since the group’s inception and suggested other high-profile groups do the same.
Fucking Finally https://t.co/bc1NyUI4jv
— Dr. Love (@questlove) June 11, 2020
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/1271120657695354882
.@Redskins literally look how easy it is.
— THEE kate rodham (@KateRodham) June 11, 2020
false
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/1271194131906400256
Some were confused and/or joking about the whole “Lady A” thing. Did they actually change their name if the A still clearly stands for “Antebellum?”
I’ve been busy, but to regroup for a moment: Lady Antebellum changed their name to be Lady A, wherein the “A” stands for, what was previously, in full, “Antebellum”…? Is that right or…
— Puja Patel (@senari) June 11, 2020
maybe a dumb question but what does the A stand forhttps://t.co/oALvGBMRvG
— extremely online and incredibly employed (@MilesKlee) June 11, 2020
"Lady Antebellum" changed their name to "Lady A", right?
And they said it's the nickname their fans gave them, which is obviously just an abbreviation of "Antebellum", right?
How is abbreviating the word any better? I'm honestly confused…
— Ms. Imani Is The Stitch Subversive (@ImaniKushan) June 11, 2020
Lady Antebellum: due to racism we are now going by “Lady A”
us: what does the A stand for?
Lady A: definitely not antebellum
— lili michelle لیلی (@lilsmichelle) June 11, 2020
I think it's cool that Lady Antebellum changed its name to Lady A, but now I'm really curious to know what the "A" stands for.
— (((Joshua Malina))) (@JoshMalina) June 11, 2020
Acknowledging wrongdoing is the first step. To really take action, Lady A should continue to spread awareness and do what they can to amplify Black voices in the music industry, particularly in country music.
