The Nashville country trio announced in a letter to fans, they would be changing their name from “Lady Antebellum” to “Lady A” amidst the Black Lives Matter movements.
Apparently the term Antebellum translates to “before war” in Latin, and is generally used to describe the south Pre-Civil War romanticizing plantation life and slavery. Who knew?
Since their debut in 2006 the band has been going by Lady Antebellum, and I honestly had no idea about the history surrounding the name, and never even questioned it. Even the band members claim they weren’t completely aware of what the word Antebellum portrayed. In fact, the band chose the name because their first photo was taken in front of an Antebellum style house, and one of the members thought the house looked haunted and said, “maybe there’s a haunted ghost in there like Lady Antebellum or something?” The band members thought the name sounded cool and paid respect to the South.
Similar to NASCAR prohibiting Confederate flags, HBO dropping “Gone With The Wind”, the band claimed they were woken up to the world as a result of protests around the country surrounding current events. Changing their name to “Lady A”, is their of way saying they don’t support racism, feel for those who have experienced it, and don’t want to be associated with past events that took place in the south and other parts of the world.
I have always been a fan of Lady Antebellum and will continue to be one. I applaud Lady A for making the change, and educating others about the elements of systematic oppression and racism. I hope the rest of their fans will appreciate their efforts too. I know there has been mixed reviews on both sides of it, and there always will be. That’s the sad thing with the world we live in, no matter what you do someone somewhere will be upset. The best way to live life is to do the right thing, and at this moment in time Lady A is opening their eyes to what is wrong with the world, and trying to do their part in making it a better place. Hopefully more people will learn to educate themselves, and finally realize even if we come from different backgrounds and races we are all still humans.
Humans who can sit back, crack a cold one, and relax with friends of all races and nationalities. Just put on some Lady A (or whatever you are into) and enjoy this thing we call life.
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