Nashville, Tennessee. El grupo country Lady Antebellum está cambiando su nombre a Lady A, y sus miembros dicen que están arrepentidos y avergonzados de no haber tomado en consideración las asociaciones de esa palabra con la esclavitud.

La banda laureada con múltiples premios Grammy, integrada por Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley y Dave Haywood, hizo el anuncio hoy en redes sociales.

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Dear Fans,⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ As a band, we have strived for our music to be a refuge…inclusive of all. We’ve watched and listened more than ever these last few weeks, and our hearts have been stirred with conviction, our eyes opened wide to the injustices, inequality and biases Black women and men have always faced and continue to face everyday. Now, blindspots we didn’t even know existed have been revealed.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ After much personal reflection, band discussion, prayer and many honest conversations with some of our closest Black friends and colleagues, we have decided to drop the word “antebellum” from our name and move forward as Lady A, the nickname our fans gave us almost from the start.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ When we set out together almost 14 years ago, we named our band after the southern “antebellum” style home where we took our first photos. 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. 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.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣ We feel like we have been Awakened, but this is just one step. There are countless more that need to be taken. 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. Our next outward step will be a donation to the Equal Justice Initiative through LadyAID. 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.

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El primer álbum homónimo del grupo salió en 2008 e incluyó el laureado No. 1 de la música country “I Run To You”, al que siguió el éxito pop “Need You Now”, certificado nueve veces platino. Ganaron tres Grammy por esa canción, incluyendo a grabación del año. También han recibido numerosos premios de la Asociación de la Música Country y de la Academia de la Música Country durante sus casi 14 años de trayectoria.

En el comunicado, el trío dijo que había elegido el nombre por la casa de estilo de preguerra (antebellum en inglés) donde se tomaron las primeras fotos de la banda, y porque les recordaba a los estilos de la música sureña. El término “antebellum” ha sido ampliamente asociado con el periodo previo a la Guerra Civil estadounidense, cuando se practicaba la esclavitud.

Los miembros de la banda dijeron que en semanas recientes se les abrieron los ojos ante “los puntos ciegos que ni siquiera sabíamos que existían” y “las injusticias, desigualdad y prejuicios que las mujeres y hombres negros siempre han enfrentado”.

La banda expresó su profundo pesar por el dolor que esto ha ocasionado y por cualquiera que se haya sentido inseguro, inadvertido o no valorado.