WhenLady Adecided to drop Antebellum from their nameover the summer, they knew the impact it would have.
Speaking onThe Tamron Hall Showon Friday, the trio — comprisingHillary Scott,Charles KelleyandDave Haywood— opened up about their reasoning behind their controversial decision, specifically at the peak of theBlack Lives Mattermovement.
“The heart of our decision still rings true today as much as it did back in June when we made this announcement," Scott, 34, told Hall. “We want our music, and our live shows and anything that we’re a part of, for everyone to feel welcome and invited. And we realized over the summer not touring and watching just this movement happen that is so needed in this country and around the world, we started to see what our part was, what part of our first steps in making a difference could be.”
“Our name changing was the first step,” she added.
In June, the country group announced that it would beshortening its name to Lady A, given the ties of the term “Antebellum” to the slave-owners and the Confederate South. (The announcement came as the people across the country protested police brutality and racial injustice in the U.S. and across the world.)
Lady A.Brett Carlsen/Getty
On Friday’s talk show, Haywood, 38, said that the decision came after having “so many conversations” with Black friends.
“It was not the end, it was the beginning for us,” he added.
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Kelley, 39, further explained how he felt “guilty” for not thinking about the impact a word like that could have, describing it as a “blind spot.”
“We came up with the name thinking about the Antebellum home,” he said. “It’s so naïve now looking back, but I think, as we’ve grown up, we all have kids now. Why now? Well, we’re a lot older, we look at the world a lot different. We’re trying to leave the world a little bit better too for our kids and the next generation. We want to be a part of change. We knew this was going to be difficult. We knew we were going to alienate a lot of fans.”
“As musicians, it reminded us of all the music born in the south that influenced us…Southern Rock, Blues, R&B, Gospel and of course Country,” they continued. “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.”
“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 added.
source: people.com
