As many of us re-examine our relationship with race in the wake of a series of country-wide protests over the killings of unarmed Black citizens by police, some are making some hard realizations about themselves.
Recently, you had HBO pulling the movie Gone with the Wind temporarily while they added notes for context, since the film seems to glorify an antebellum South and White supremacy.
And speaking of 'antebellum,' a famous band has decided to drop their own connection to the tenuous time in American history.
The newly re-christened Lady A explained their decision on their social media.
The band made a long post, explaining the history behind their name, and apologizing for inadvertently propping up a racist White supremacist history. They've listened to those around them and have made the decision to remove the word 'antebellum' from their name.
'Antebellum' is Latin for 'before war,' and is used in America exclusively to refer to the South before the Civil War. A country band using the name is immediately going to conjure the image of a culture built on Slavery.
Their decision to now go by Lady A, however, has some fans split
The band formerly known as Lady Antebellum took the word from the 'antebellum' style home where they took their first photos.
The style and word reminded them of the music that influenced their own sound, but felt it was still one glorifying slavery.
So the band decided to take on the name Lady A, which was a nickname their fans used for them already. Though wouldn't this just mean it's an obvious abbreviation for 'Antebellum?'
The discussion around glorifying the slave-filled history of the United States has been very vocal as of late. This topic is especially fervent about statues of the Confederacy.
During some protests, Confederate statues have been graffitied or even destroyed, with many calling for the removal of the figures entirely.
Opponents to these measures defend the statues with notions they are historical and removing them will cause people to forget the history of our country.
The same arguments are made regarding the change to Lady A.
As time goes on, we'll have to have a reckoning with our racist history.
Maybe moments like this will be the change we need, and maybe it will be unnecessary in the grand scheme.
But if we aren't willing to look at ourselves and at least try to improve our actions, what are we even doing here?
@thekalenallen/Threads
U.S. Mint
