As the George Floyd protests swept the country, white people have been forced to reckon with their complicity in systemic racism. This inspired a variety of actions ranging from sincere to performative: the removal of Confederate monuments, the redesign of Splash Mountain, white actors no longer voicing certain minority characters in animation.
Amidst these changes, country band Lady Antebellum announced that they would be changing their name to Lady A, since the word Antebellum is used to romanticize the pro-slavery South before the Civil War. The Dixie Chicks also announced that they would be changing their name to simply, The Chicks.
It turns out that there already is a performer who goes by the name Lady A: Anita White, a Black blues singer who resides in the Pacific Northwest. White has been performing under the moniker Lady A for over twenty years. In an interview with Rolling Stone, White said,
“This is my life. Lady A is my brand, I’ve used it for over 20 years, and I’m proud of what I’ve done, … This is too much right now. They’re using the name because of a Black Lives Matter incident that, for them, is just a moment in time. If it mattered, it would have mattered to them before. It shouldn’t have taken George Floyd to die for them to realize that their name had a slave reference to it.”
She added that the band never reached out to her before making their announcement, adding “It’s an opportunity for them to pretend they’re not racist or pretend this means something to them, … If it did, they would’ve done some research. And I’m not happy about that. You found me on Spotify easily — why couldn’t they?”
The band shared a screenshot of a conversation with White and claimed that they were engaged in “Transparent, honest, and authentic conversations” over the name rights. But clearly those negotiations fell apart, as the band is now suing White for the trademark to the name Lady A.
The group released a statement saying, “Today we are sad to share that our sincere hope to join together with Anita White in unity and common purpose has ended, … She and her team have demanded a $10 million payment, so reluctantly we have come to the conclusion that we need to ask a court to affirm our right to continue to use the name Lady A, a trademark we have held for many years.”
The band is asking a Nashville court to grant them the right to the trademark of the name so they can use it for promotional purposes and merchandise. They aren’t asking for money and they aren’t trying to ban White from performing under the name. Still, it is reprehensible of the band to pretend to support the Black Lives Matter movement by stealing the name of a Black artist who doesn’t have access to the wealth (or legal representation) that the Grammy-winning band does.
Also, what does the ‘A’ stand for now? It’s still just a shortened reference to ‘antebellum.’ You’ve solved nothing, band formerly known as Lady Antebellum.
The group added, “We’re still committed to educating ourselves, our children and doing our part to fight for the racial justice so desperately needed in our country and around the world.”
White said of the situation, “For them to not even reach out is pure privilege. I’m not going to lay down and let this happen to me. But now the burden of proof is on me to prove that my name is in fact mine, and I don’t even know how much I’ll have to spend to keep it.”
(via Pitchfork, image: Jason Kempin/Getty Images/Dawn Lucrisia-Johnson)
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Published: Jul 9, 2020 03:40 pm