Country music superstar Lady Antebellum is changing their name as “blindspots we didn’t even know existed have been revealed.”
The band, composed of Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, announced their decision to change their name to Lady A, a nickname they say fans have given them from the get-go. In a letter to their fans on Instagram, they also apologized to those who may have felt “unsafe, unseen or undervalued.”
“As a band, we have strived for our music to be a refuge…inclusive of all,” they said.
“Antebellum” means before the war. Colloquially, it’s widely used to denote the time before the American Civil War. Sharing how they came up with their band’s name – “We named our band after the southern ‘antebellum’ style home where we took our first photos” – they say it had reminded them of the musical influences of the south.
“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,” they continued. “We are deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused and for anyone who has felt unsafe, unseen or unvalued. Causing pain was never our hearts’ intention, but it doesn’t change the fact that indeed, it did just that. So today, we speak up and make a change. We hope you will dig in and join us.
They say it’s just the first step among many that they will be taking and opened up about their commitment to help effect change. “We want to do better. We are committed to examining our individual and collective impact and making the necessary changes to practice antiracism. We will continue to educate ourselves, have hard conversations and search the parts of our hearts that need pruning—to grow into better humans, better neighbors.”
They also announced that they will be making a donation to LadyAID to benefit the Equal Justice Initiative. “Our prayer is that if we lead by example…with humility, love, empathy and action…we can be better allies to those suffering from spoken and unspoken injustices, while influencing our children & generations to come.”
