Very occasionally I abuse my blogging privileges and go on about something non-comic book related that annoys me, and that none of you regular readers will probably give a hoot about. This is one of those times.
So Lady Antebellum’s all around average country pop song “Need You Now” won a bazillion Grammys last night (beating Cee Lo Green’s “Fuck You” for Record of the Year and Song of the Year, which is ludicrous). They’re all over the news pages today, and I get upset EVERY time I see/hear their name. The word “antebellum” is a very specific term… it refers to the pre-Civil War American South, which was built damn near entirely on the backs of slaves. If you reference ANYTHING as “antebellum”, you bring with said reference the legacy of slavery… the two are inextricably connected.
Now, “antebellum” is a cool sounding word… I can see why someone would want to use it in their band name. But it means something REALLY bad, and the members of Lady Antebellum, three white kids from former Confederate states, should damn well know that. It’s like naming your band Madame Apartheid, or Frau Drittes Reich (I would not be surpised if there was a metal band somewhere named Frau Drittes Reich). However you mean to use the word, it ACTUALLY means something else to a lot of people that’s rather terrible. I’m sure the member of the band are very nice people and all, but that’s just an awful, awful name.
Anyway, it drives me up the wall. Along with everyone I know, because I always go on about it whenever I hear “Need You Now”, which is far too often. Somehow I doubt my blogging is going to lead to a name change, though.
TIM HANLEY 
i wish lady antebellum would crease to exist. i hate the south.
crease to exist?
Give me a break! What else do we have to change to appease the Left? Maybe history books next.
I live in Dallas, and for some reason I find a lot of people hate the South.
I’m a country music fan, a descendant of Northern & Southern C.W. soldiers (like most Americans), amongst other nationalities, but I still did a double-take when I 1st heard the name bc being a history major & a Civil War buff, I knew it references the pre-Civil War era & this country prefers to feign like that time period never existed due to its shame of slavery when slavery was not the only facet of that period and, by far, not the center of it either. Southerners had/have a culture also no matter how much the modern day US wants to obliterate it to punish them for something they themselves practiced & endorsed at one point as well. Even if it were taken the wrong way, it is no different than the ample R&B and rap singers w/the word ‘Black’ and ‘Brown’ in their stage names, e.g. Sounds of Blackness, Blaque, Black Rob, Foxxy Brown, etc.
Nope, that is not the same thing. Black is such a general term. Antebellum comes with the direct connotation of slavery. “if it were taken the wrong way…” It’s always taken the wrong way
Imagine if someone said, “I live in an area with a disproportionately high number of offensive people who lack self-awareness, and for some reason I find a lot of people hate where I live.”
That’s what I hear you saying.
Slavery was bad. Period. It’s annoying that ANY Southerner should hang onto the “glory” that was completely based on slavery. That’s offensive. And it you won’t let go of that “glory”, you’re a loser. It was not even glory. How is slavery “glorious”?
Also, most white people in the South were *not* rich estate owners back in the antebellum day. If any of those poor whites thought their life of poverty was somehow better because they were “better” than someone held against their will, those people were pathetic. One is not a better person for enjoying holding an enslaved human in contempt. Second, any poor, white Southerners championing slavery were fools to be championing a system that meant the white people had to work at literal slave wages in order to be economically competitive. Think about that. And you wonder why some people hate the South (actually, such people reall only hate that subset of maddeningly annoying peoplel).
Those antebellum days were not glory days. Mansions don’t get built in glory days. They get built in days of extreme unfairness and worth. Saddam Hussein built palaces, and I wouldn’t call his rule a period of glory days. King Louis XIV built palaces, but his rule was not glorious for the people of France. And antebellum mansions were built by extreme suppression of the working class, by bringing in slaves and forcing white workers to work at *literal* slave wages. And don’t think most whites back then were working in the tech sector or in corporate parks. Those jobs didn’t exist. White workers were mostly poor. You either owned people or you didn’t. If you were a worker, you didn’t.
Those white workers sometimes took out their anger and resentment on blacks, trying to feel better about themselves, when they should have burnt down the mansions. That a sizable fraction of Southerners champion those “glory days” is offensive to people because it is not only championing days of pain, but pain that would have most likely fallen on the very people who champion those days. The irony itself is painful to watch – nobody likes listening to stupid white people cheer on days past in which those same stupid people would have worked as sharecroppers in a shack. Even the successful white people of today had a low statistical probability of being in the elite slave-owning class, so championing those days is really just stupid. It’s an embarrassment to human intelligence, and thus an insult to mine. That’s why some *behavior* and *values* of a subset of Southerners is hated.
Rants about band names are as ridiculous as it comes. Nothing so mondaine should drive anyone to your level, get a real life. You must have a big hissy fit over the Greatful Deal. Both bands favorites of mine.
I live in the north. I also have live a lot of my adult life in the south. I prefer living down there.
Oh Joe, I’m from the south and I would have to tell you that it was hate that has earned the south its not so pleasant image. So by adopting the word hate as a part of you, you’ll only earn the same image.
Interesting point~
Sadly, the band won’t
change its name.
Cool sounding, though.
Please flashmob protests wherever Madame Massmurder appears. THIS IS DISGUSTING!! Their faux naïveté, feigning ignorance about the meaning of Antebellum, only makes these Confederate apologists even more repugnant. What A~Holes!! Please flood these creeps and everyone who enables this racist trash with complaints, and demand that all venues which promote them apologize. Does anyone know of an organized campaign to fight these scumbags?
Ante means before, and Bellum means war, and Ante Bellum isn’t owned by Southern states nor have anything to do with the Confederacy, nor slavery. It’s a time period that is applied to Northern states as well from after the War of 1812 to the Civil war. However that time period reflected a healthy growth in the Southern economy , a boom in population as more and more people pushed west and south, enjoying the benefits of free labor. It was the South’s rise and fall that everyone attributes to this phrase , but its incorrect.
whoa, anon, you are one scary dude. I hope you were being ironic.
How about “The Police”?
Anon, take a good look around and open your naive eyes. You don’t see Northerners talking about antebellum days, (and the North was even the winning side). The North got past those days, perhaps because using a war as a point of reference is unpleasant, even if you say “before the war.” Burying 100s of thousands of dead is not a pleasant affair, nor is feeling the loss of those dead so pleasant afterwards. And the pain of the enslaved people stolen from their homes is not pleasant. So why champion kidnapping and enslavement and beating days that lead to that war? By the way, do you realize most Southern whites were suckers to think those days were great? The Southern economy was no greater than the Wall Street financial sector economy. Lots of money could be measured as moving around, but it was all in the hands of the rich. Why don’t you ask the white sharecroppers, who outnumbered the mansion owners, how great it was to be have to compete with literal slave labor. The whites suffered under slavery, you just don’t hear about it because of the propaganda created by the elites running the South.
So, yes, antebellum is a word meaning before war. Yet you only find people obsessed with the Confederacy taking on the name. And those people, more often than not, would have been relatively poor white laborers back in that day.
Dickhead! Get a life…
Yes! Yes and more yes to this! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
We don’t like u
What else do we have to change to appease? This attitude is so over the top!
Get real. You were not there, nor was I. Could just be a southern hospitality reference. The south is not as stuck-up as the north. No, I’m not from the South! In a perfect world there is no color distinction, can’t you just accept an individual for who they are.
To Anonymous – the fact that Lady Antebellum has changed their name shows how they realized their own ignorance and inconsideration. Anyone who has studied history of this country AT ALL, realizes that the meaning of “Antebellum” is a reference to the pre-Civil War period in the South, characterized by a hardening of the slavery system to benefit a very small amount of large white land-owners. Hence, the band has admitted to the offensiveness of using that term in a band name. Why don’t you check out the Wikipedia entry for “Antebellum South” and you will find that not only are the comments of prefontaine and another Anonymous are correct. The wealth of the Antebellum South was completely reliant on the wealth created by the ownership of enslaved people. The economic system was the reason why the South never developed it’s economy further and a large amount of wealth collected in the hands of very few people. The poor whites lived in great poverty and were cut off from any job opportunities as existed in the North BECAUSE of the slavery system. However, I do not hate the South. The North ALSO bears responsibility for the slavery system because the North bought the cotton and tobacco harvested by enslaved people. All of us bore responsibility for enslaving people. I think the hatred that the South feels for the North is rooted in part for the North’s hypocritical blaming the South entirely for the slavery past. The South did resist change and the North did take the step to end it. But let’s all recognize that the wealth of this country as a whole was based on a thirst for very cheap labor. I also love certain aspects of living in the South – it has a slower pace, better food, some beautiful scenery, and an incredible contribution to our musical history – gospel, blues, bluegrass and ultimately rock and roll, not to mention the literary contributions: William Faulkner, Carson McCullers, Richard Wright, and Maya Angelou among many. But recognize that much of this cultural contribution rises from the tortures of living in a place without freedom.
And believe me, we HATE you!
Just like Americans -everything is about you. Antebellum (directly translated from Latin) means ‘before war’. It does NOT mean ‘before the American Civil War’.
Claudette- they are an American band from the American South, in the American country and western genre, pretty sure the American context of ‘antebellum’ matters but gaslighting works too, I guess
Claudette, you took the words right off of my fingers. It means “before the war” not necessarily the American Civil War!
Yes, but using antebellum in America means the time before the Civil War dummy. Plus they are an American band with an American genre of music coming from the south. Of course, in this case, antebellum is referring to the Civil War.
Claudette – the band’s name refers to the Antebellum mansions that they posed in during a photo shoot. That means it refers to Antebellum South – see the Wikipedia entry “Antebellum South”. You are dead wrong.
Well get a life is your icons someone of the swastika another stolen symbol of hate
Built on the backs of no wonder they lost
I give you this they must’ve been some stupid in the south why would you pick the laziest race of people is plenty of Chinese that had lots of energy and actually get shit done
Has it occurred to any of the hate talkers that maybe you don’t know their true intentions. First of Ante = Before Bellum = War in Latin and there’s a multiple of things you all didn’t consider before assuming guild to slavery. The latin Words mean “Before War” that is the definition of it in Latin which was created as a language in 750 BC (BEFORE CHRIST). Now I get that Lady Antebellum are American artists and safe to assume that they meant before the civil war of 1810 but let’s be realistic did you think they meant I like owning black slaves when they drafted that name and made it public? FIRST ASSUMPTIONthe most obvious answer should be because they’re southern Americans country folk that they value their heritage in the South and they’re TRADITIONAL simple southerners implying that they’re lineage as citizens predates even the civil war and that they’re not first generation or 2nd generation citizens. SECOND assumption if I didnt know about USA history and I knew latin that ANTEBELLUM would mean BEFORE WAR. since band’s name is LADY ANTE BELLUM = LADY BEFORE WAR AKA lover not a fighter, put your woman first etc etc. no need for hate. I can assure you just from their music alone they are not racist and never implied to anything except that they like being southern country gal and cowboys who sing nice songs with a soft tone. Never would slavery come to mind when hearing them
You may not be a citizen of this country or you are ignorant of our history. What this proves is that the band was uninformed – and this is exactly what is happening now, all of us are getting an education in the history of our country. Now, they have become “Lady A”. I applaud their willingness to grow and change after being educated as to how such a name could offend and confuse others. I think that calling a person or a band “racist” is not the point. Their songs may be lovely, but their name choice showed an ignorance that they have now corrected.
I wish Leftists would cease to exist.
👎
lady antebellum is evil hoe bag
HERE, HERE! “‘nother shodda whiskey…”
Hating the South or calling Lady Antebellum an evil hoe bag does not strike me as a reasonable response here, folks. What we hate is slavery… slavery is bad. Blanket hating the South or calling people names is uncalled for. The post is called “Lady Antebellum is a Super Racist Name”, not “Lady Antebellum is Racist”… it’s just about being annoyed at a poor word choice. If we could keep the name-calling and hate-related comments to a minimum from now on, that would be great.
You have a masters degree in History and do not even know the meaning of Antebellum, so so very sad,
Any word can be taken out of context, there is nothing wrong with the name they chose. It means bet or war…. That’s it… The people in the south at that time made everything about the color of a persons skin. There were slave owners in the north too. When can we get over what happened over 148 years ago…. Hate is no better, hate teaches that being different is wrong, hate teaches to hurt and make others suffer… So get over it!!! We live in America, those men that fought for freedom is why we can post our opinions on places like this….. So Rock on lady Antebellum…
I’m forming a band called, “The Wonder Years that Lead to the Deaths of Hundreds of Thousands.” It’s so romantic. Only a true lady would choose such a name, no?
Yeah, I was pretty surprised that they use that word in their name. Do you really want to evoke the feeling of the seditionist, slaveholding nasty era in your squishy and bright country music songs?
Buuuttt i am really really not their audience.
Thanks for mentioning this! Ever since I first heard their name mentioned I’d think to myself “is that fucking weird/fucked up?”
No, I think you are fucked up Marcus.
No, he’s not, I thought the same thing. Why would you want to refer to a very dark era? I think those kids were young enough to not research into the term. But coming from the West and having read history, I also thought….yuck. But now they have changed the name, showing that everyone commenting here against the use of the term is correct. So perhaps name-calling should be set aside?
Nikki Cook: It’s a bizarre juxtaposition, isn’t it? Innocuous pop country music and the brutal subjugation of an entire race is just a weird combination. Maybe they’re making a bold and fascinating statement we’re missing out on or something.
Mr. Marcus: That’s pretty much what I think every time I hear the name too… it still surprises me that that’s their REAL band name!
hehehe Madame Apartheid
I tell ya, I kind of look forward each day to the continuing decline of whites on earth. Good riddens albinoids!
wtf is wrong with you?>
Hey Mary! I think i saw you in Return Of Planet Of The Apes!
CONGRATULATIONS!! Maybe your wish WILL come true!!
“ridden” and “riddance” are two different words. “RIDDENS” ! Is not a word.
Dear Mary,
If you truly look forward to the decline of whites in the world, then you are no better than any other racist on earth. As a person who prides themselves on looking at the good in all people, it disgusts me that people still feel the need to hate in regards to the issues of the Civil War instead of learn the lessons that make our world better. If anything, the civil rights issues in our country (and not JUST black vs. white, but ALL civil rights issues) teach us that human beings, regardless of race, gender, belief, sexual orientation or anything else, are human beings and should have the same rights and privileges as any other human being. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.: “An individual cannot begin to live until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”
That being said, I do not like the name Lady Antebellum for the reason that it brings back negative ideals about how to treat a certain race in this world. Though I agree with you on that aspect, I believe you should take a deep look inside yourself and reflect on the kind of hate you yourself exude in your comment – is it really any different?
Regards.
For evil to thrive, good people do nothing. You must be a person who is so passive as to be lethal. No matter how self-righteously you pat yourself on the back, you can’t undo the harm caused by slavery, nor its modern toxic effects. You can’t play nice with killers, and you calling people who hate Hate “haters” is a stupid word flip that any 6 year old would use when their parents tell them “No!” Your mealymouthed excuses for racism are not clever, and absolutely NOT MORAL. Would you also defend a musical troupe named James Earl Ray & the Monkeyshootin’ Shitkickers? Yee haw!!! Now THAT’S A HOOT, I’ll tell you what!
So what about all those antebellum style houses that still stand in the south, in all their elegance. Wow maybe we should just burn them down cause they remind us of bad times.. There were other things going on besides slavery that was good. You can’t let something negative stay that way. We have moved on. No I’m not saying to ever forget but there is more to the word than just slavery!!!!!!!!!
I suspect that what this Mary person meant by her statement was that eventually there will be no more “white” people left because every race will be mixed together. I did not take her comment as intending to state that the white race should be destroyed in a racist way.
Anonymous finally comes out and says it – what about the houses? That’s where your focus and concern is. Get real, Anonymous.
When people visit Versailles, they might enjoy the glory of the palace. But you don’t see them forming bands that whistfully recall the days in which King Louis XIV took the peoples’ money and paid dirt wages to have them build his palaces. Do you? DO YOU? Yet here in the U.S. we have people doing things just like that every year. It is embarrassing. Period. The lack of self-awareness is itself an embarrassment. Lady Antebellum is acting in that way.
It’s just sick to raise the question about whether houses should be burnt down. Nobody brought that issue up but you. There are no mobs marching down the streets to burn down antebellum houses.
You pretend to be looking for the good in things. If you’re focusing on that on this particular web page, you’re distracting from the *good* of the message. If you want to *focus* on good, focus on a different period of time other than antebellum. Don’t try to make excuses for those who try to glorify those days.If you’re obsessed with nice houses, talk about the houses. Don’t make it about the word antebellum. That is not a positive focus.
Lady Antebellum is NOT focusing on something good. They are specifically addressing a clearly bad time and place – the Southern U.S during Slavery. And don’t be coy and pretend they could be referencing the days before any generic war, like the Crimean War. Every U.S. citizen who’s not legally required to have a guardian is fully aware of what the band’s name refers to. If Lady Antebellum chooses to bring attention to the whole period, associating it with the genteel word lady, they really don’t understand the word lady or antebellum.
Fuvku
I think the same thing everytime I hear their band name.
Can they be that ignorant to the history that the name
references? Plus what moron in musicland thought that they
would be a good choice for a Teddy Pendergas “tribute.”
That was disgraceful!
Right! That was horrible!
Stupidity IS rife among you young yanks. Do you always need the politically correct to do your thinking for you ?
Good point!
Odd choice, indeed.
I totally agree. I actually didn’t know the word antebellum, but had watched the grammy awards and was aware of the band. I just looked it up after reading it in the Michele Norris’ memoir The Grace of Silence, immediately thought of the band, googled “Lady Antebellum racist” to see what people were saying, this was the first entry to pop up in the results.
As you may or may not have noticed…the female singer has body art on her right wrist – the number 14. Which has been known to stand for the 14 words in the white pride creed. I used to like this group but I will not listen to them anymore. Unbelievable in this day and age – people like this.
Lynn: Apparently, the tattoo represents the age difference between her and her younger sister. I think the band is more not so bright at name picking than in any way outrightly racist.
Tim thank you for the explaination – do you really believe that? I can’t see putting a number on my body of the age difference of any of my siblings. Seems odd to me.
Lynn: I do believe it… she seems very fond of her sister, who is much younger than her, and I’m sure it’s a nice reminder of home while she’s on the road. I really don’t think the members of the band are racist people. I just think they’re terrible at name picking 🙂
terrible at name picking? you are an idiot.
Actually you are for assuming they’re racist.
I choose optimism and believe they’re telling the truth.
at some, as with the law, extreme reckless counts as intent (mens rea…try out that latin name) and that applies here…being that reckless with choosing a name qualifies as having intent…an intentional statement is being made, but subliminal enough to hide behind…nothing innocuous about that.
I actually really liked their songs when I first heard them but when I learned the name of their group it was definetely a turn off and I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. I searched about why they chose that name and apparently it was because they took pics together in front of antebellum houses and the female band memeber apparently was oblivious to the meaning of antebellum. Rewind… how could she not know the meaning of antebellum? Baloney, they’re racist right in our face about, its ludicrous theres no way she didn’t no what it meant, and the others had to be aware of what pre-civil war America is connected with. It’s really sad, oh and your also telling me that out of they’re entire staff and label no one said hmm you know that band name could be kind’ve offensive? They know exactly what their name means and they still went with it
I wasn’t, so it’s possible.
and also Lynn I think you are right about her tattoo, too much of a coincidence in my opinon. And yea it sounds dumb to get a tatto of you and your siblings age difference, why not her name? date of birth? nick name? I’m pretty sure shes keen on the number 14 for more then what Tim’s saying.
I’m glad you’ve blogged about this. Choosing that word is either racist or ignorant and I’m guessing the story was cooked up after the fact to soothe folks like us (it hasn’t worked). I think this is an example of a racist dog whistle (something that isn’t really meant to be heard by us but is a subtle signal to slavery apologists that “pssst, we’re on your side.”). To me, it’s exactly the same as wanting to preserve the stars and bars by reasoning that it’s just preserving history. Yeah, a history of RACISM!
Wow, just looked up the 14 words. The tattoo would have to be quite a coincidence. It’d be a stretch to believe their name is accidentally racist AND her tattoo is accidentally the symbol of a white pride movement.
I really didn’t expect to have to defend Lady Antebellum in the comments section, much less spend time researching to do so… I am amused 🙂 Okay, here’s the scene… the Fourteen Words is a SUPER racist slogan, either “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for White Children” or “Because the beauty of the White Aryan women must not perish from the earth”, both of which trace back to Aryan Nationalist David Lane, and then back to Mein Kampf. To have anything to do with the Fourteen Words, you’d pretty much have to be a full on white supremacist… it’s not something one is casually associated with. It’s not a sign of simple racism; it’s a sign of wanting to eradicate everyone who’s not white from the planet.
So between the alleged Fourteen Words connection and the word “Antebellum”, the band is either firmly in favour of the elimination/enslavement of non-whites and steadfastly committed to the purity of the white race OR they are some dopey kids who picked a bad name and have a random tattoo.
Before you decide, consider this: at the Grammys they participated in a tribute to Teddy Pendergrass, who is black. On their webpage, Hillary Scott lists Beyonce and John Legend as two of her favourite singers. Also on their website, the band’s favourte charity is the African aid organization The Mocha Club, and specifically the “Learn To Earn” program in South Africa. Lady Antebellum must be either engaged in an EPIC long con in which they suck people in with their catchy pop country music to subconsciously indoctrinate them with Aryan Nationalist beliefs and this whole Teddy Pendergrass/Beyonce/John Legend/helping Africans stuff is just there to throw us off the scent OR they picked a bad name. I think it’s gotta be the latter… I don’t think they’re evil geniuses.
People here are making a lot of very big accusations about Lady Antebellum, with very minimal evidence. A bad band name and a random tattoo does not make the members of the band racist, much less white supremacists (which the Fourteen Words explicitly implies). I know internet comments sections are hardly a bastion of calm and thoughtful discussion, but we should probably all take a deep breath and seriously evaluate the situation before we start throwing such strong allegations around. All of the evidence so far suggests that Lady Antebellum are some nice kids who did not do a good job picking their band name, so let’s all calm down a bit, please.
http://www.racialicious.com/2010/01/14/lady-antebellum-and-the-glorification-of-the-pre-civil-war-south/ Read this article- instead of tryin to defend them it gives an intelligent critique, Tim you brought this up rightfully so… don’t get squeamish now
That’s an interesting article, and I certainly agree that the glorification of the pre-Civil War South is both troubling and foolish. However, the article isn’t about Lady Antebellum… it uses the band as a jumping off point to take issue with Gone With the Wind and Manhunt, but doesn’t really say much about the band at all. Yes, “antebellum” is a VERY loaded term with terrible connotations, but apart from a poorly selected band name, there are NO indications that the members of Lady Antebellum are racist. Calling a person racist is a BIG accusation, and it should be done with solid evidence. All we can accuse the band members of personally is bad judgement and possibly ignorance. Should Lady Antebellum start flying the Confederate flag at their concerts or showing up at Tea Party rallies, then we’ve got a problem. But all we have right now is a band name, and I don’t think that’s nearly enough to call someone a racist. It’s a bad band name, sure, but there is no evidence yet that they are in any way bad people.
I agree with you… Only there is more to the name than just slavery. I myself did not know what antebellum meant. They go on and on about the slaves that were black but what about the red ones… They were there in the antebellum times. The houses are referred to as antebellum mansions…
I love the group and will continue to stand up for them. This is no better than trying to instill more hate …. Focus on the positive not the negative
Valid points~
just because they donate to black charities and like black singers doesnt mean they arent racist tim, “A final fear has probably always haunted white people but has become more powerful since the society has formally rejected overt racism: The fear of being seen, and seen-through, by non-white people. Virtually every white person I know, including white people fighting for racial justice and including myself, carries some level of racism in our minds and hearts and bodies. In our heads, we can pretend to eliminate it, but most of us know it is there. And because we are all supposed to be appropriately anti-racist, we carry that lingering racism with a new kind of fear: What if non-white people look at us and can see it? What if they can see through us? What if they can look past our anti-racist vocabulary and sense that we still don’t really know how to treat them as equals? What if they know about us what we don’t dare know about ourselves? What if they can see what we can’t even voice?” http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5539692
I think donating to black charities and liking black singers clearly means they aren’t white supremacists, which is what the 14 tattoo argument implies. And seeing as that’s the only corroborating evidence people have for the supposed racism of Lady Antebellum, again all we are left with is a poorly chosen band name, which is not enough evidence to label someone a racist. The quote that you provide is interesting, as is the article, but it implies that EVERY white person is in some way racist. This is an intriguing theory, but gives us no grounds to single out the members of Lady Antebellum. The ONLY evidence we have to argue that the band is racist (apart from the inherent racism of all white people) is a band name, and that’s not nearly in the ballpark of enough to make such an accusation. It’s just a REALLY dumb name with awful associations… we can take issue with the name, but I don’t think there’s any evidence that merits taking issue with the people.
That quote is a big fat lie.
Quoting you: “Virtually every White person I know…carries some level of racism in their minds and hearts and bodies.” You may be listening to too much corporate mush like NPR. Fighting racism requires courage and destabilization, not feel-good navel gazing. Though in this case, you’re gazing into your friends’ navels too. Wow. What magic power allows you to peer into the very minds and hearts and bodies? The way you describe it, racism is like Original Sin — you’re born that way. Sorry to burst your slippery philosophical bubble, but our world includes in its population a large body of cosmopolitan/internationalist people who work very hard to battle racism, war, and exploitation. Get ready for a shock: people are knowable by their actions, not their feelings. The stakes are high! Not for the faint of heart. There will be blood. Nelson Mandela fought in the real, material world — he didn’t advocate mere nonviolence. Ghandi was lucky; the British were already sick of the colonies and ready to hand it all over to native stand-ins. Oppression isn’t an opinion. Dismantling racism is an onerous project — and be ready for backlash. Because powers that be, the status quo, Pax Americana has already begun its rage, at war everywhere, and brilliantly devising today’s Cyber-McCarthyism. Enemies abroad. The enemy within. World War 3 is full-on, now. NPR, religion, and professed good intentions will not save you. Like phony spam sweepstakes scams say in their email subject line: CONGRATULATIONS!!! YOU MAY ALREADY BE A LOSER! Oops, I typed Loser instead of Winner. Either way, many will play, few will win.
Lady A may just be being simply and incredibly stupid.
I still believe that she could be the stealth racist of the proverbial Santa Clause type who goes into the communities of color and says “time to deliver to the poor n—–s”
I agree Rhedda
You’re officially the stupidest muther fucker on the planet, congratulations…please keep wasting your time blogging your made up “theories” because they will never go anywhere but your head! This world doesn’t have time for people like you…gawd!! All of you idiots really need to go drink a can of Raid!!
Your a dumbass… that’s a racist name and you know it
Oh my god. Get a life. Theyr amazing stfu.
And you’re an idiot, you see somethings wrong herenand your ignoring it. You stfu and get a clue dumbass.
AND YOU SIR PROBABLY VOTED FOR OBAMA TOO!! YOU DON’T THINK HE’S RACIST AGAINST WHITES???
No I don’t think Obama is racist, you inbred moron.
Anonymous – Obama is half-white. Or didn’t you know that?
I think Tim provides a balanced and valuable view. At best I can be convinced that they’re ignorant.
It’s no more racist than if a German band was named Lady Third Reich.
Lady Antebellum has 14 letters. I don’t know that this proves anything, but thought I would add fuel to the conspiracy fire.
These kids are young, probably not racist (certainly not overtly racist) and too clueless to the world view outside of their clique to understand why anyone would find their name offensive. The record label who signed them is the one who should have damn well known better. Oh well, who listens to country anyway?
You wanna know whats REALLY messed up? Here you guys are bitchin about lady antebellum being racist but you yourselves making ignorant racist remarks against
Everyone is wasting way too much energy on the name of a band.
Come on get a life! A lot of things are pre Civil War. And talk about racist. You all sound racist! Give me a break!
Its obvious most of the children here are under the age of five, including the blogger. Racism is racism and slavery is slavery. Learn your history. According to some, civilization started in Egypt, along time ago. They were brown people and used slavery to build big stone pyramids. (probably created slavery). So factually speaking slavery was created by by dark skin people. Also the slavery of the Barbary Coast, Western, and Eastern Europe, Slavakia, root word Slav. The invasion of african countries by muslims and slavery of africans hundreds of years prior to the atlantic slave trade.This was Persia enslaving those who didn’t conform to Islam. Early 1900’s the destruction of enslaved and slautered Arminians by the ruling Muslim powers.
Time for you children to grow up now, go get a REAL education not be indoctrinated by public schools.
That’s all very interesting, olderthanfive, but in America it was white people owning black people, so when we talk about slavery in the antebellum South, racism tends to come up.
True, racism is certainly linked to the atlantic slave trade – but to say that it was a trade solely perpetuated by white individuals is inaccurate. Indeed many slaves were transported from inland Africa to the coast, and loaded on to ships by black tradesmen.
Nobody would do that to their own tribe. And maybe they traded members of rival tribes so they Europeans didn’t enslave THEM. Too bad that didn’t work out well at all.
Um…that wasn’t racial slavery in ancient Egypt. And slavery still exists in the form of human-trafficking.
There is no actual evidence that slavery ever existed in ancient Egypt. Archaeological findings actually indicate that the pyramids were built by a core of highly skilled, paid craftsmen and citizen volunteers who donated their labor during the off-agricultural season. The references to slavery in Egypt are biblical in origin and are actually figurative rather than literal — meaning that people were “enslaved” by the gross materialism of the latter-day Egyptians, who had departed far from the deep spirituality of the ancestors. Those ancestors are the ones who developed ancient Egyptian civilization and built the pyramids based on profound spiritual principles.
It is certainly true that slavery existed across the globe in ancient times, including in Africa, but it first became racialized by Europeans, who practiced it in a particularly brutal and hateful fashion. In other places, slaves were merely servants, and were often regarded as members of the household. This was obviously not so in the United States, where slaves were not even regarded as human beings, and were typically treated worse than animals.
Therefore, any glorification of the antebellum south, which was completely built upon the backs of black slaves, to their extreme detriment — the legacy of which still persists today in the form of a huge African-American underclass — is hideous, racist AND extremely ignorant if for no reason other than an obviously total insensitivity to the pain and suffering of those who endured this despicable institution, and the moral degradation of those who perpetrated it. I would recommend that “Lady” Antebellum educate itself by reading a few of the authentic slave narratives that were actually written by people who endured being enslaved in their “glorious” south.
Beverly is clearly someone with an agenda. Any open-minded person would know “racist” slavery was not invented by Europeans. It is thousands of years old. Long ago, nations were basically races, not multiracial paper entities with UN-endorsed borders. Back in those days, the nations (races) would fight and enslave the losers. The people had no problem with it. This occurred around the world. It happened in Asia, Africa, South America, North America, and Europe (and probably Micronesia/Macronesia/Polynesia). Beverly is terribly unaware of history.
As for Beverly thinking slavery was kind of nice elsewhere..wrong. Humans have had the ability to be brutal for as long as we’ve been around. It’s not a European trait nor one that was not perfected until the modern Europeans tried enslaving blacks. Beverly’s obsession with just the Europeans is just a neurotic issue, and that’s fine.
The blogger (and a few) is diplomatic. The rest have small minds.
I was wondering if I was the only one in the room who could see the 800 pound gorilla. I know now there are at least two of us.
I completely agree with the blogger. While the name is racist, the members are most decidedly not white supremacists. Quit wasting time arguing about whether or not this band name and it’s members are secretly plotting to purify the white race, and spend time make educated arguments against those that are clearly racists.
I agree, too. I like country music well enough, but a lot of the big stars are racist. Antebellum just means “the good old days when slavery was legal.”
You guys are all morons, antebellum is Latin for “before the war” not any particular war, just pre-war. They’re not referring to any single war and I’m pretty sure that they’re using antebellum figuratively. And to whoever said that they deserved to die you have something deeply wrong with you, and you obviously don’t know how to express disapproval. Even when I personally hate something I don’t go around saying that it needs to “cease to exist”, that’s just ridiculous. And also it’s “cease” not “crease”
You are literally the only logical person to comment here. I typed out a comment and then read yours and you made every point I was going to make.
How stupid could you be to go on about how racist a band name is when it has absolutely nothing to do with race, slavery, or anything of the kind.
Some people just want to find a reason to be pissed about everything, but what really pisses me off is people who hate on a group of people who are incredibly talented and creative, writing and performing music that I’m sure all the negative commenters here could NEVER hope to come close to over a word that they probably heard once in 11th grade history class.
Honestly people.
I read somewhere that the band supposedly just liked the sound of antebellum. But in fact, it is commonly used to describe the South before the Civil War. No matter how you slice it, the word refers to a time of slavery and prosperity, followed by the devastation of the South.The term is also used to describe Nazi Germany before WWII.
Meanwhile, get this – 260,000 Confederate troops died, and 360,000 Union troops died. It was a very bad time for the US. But the South got hit economically. One can romanticize about the good times before the war in the South, until remembering the prosperity was based on the enslavement of an entire race of people.
I, for one, think “Lady Antebellum” describes a magical time of mint julips on the porch and fancy clothes – check out “Gone with the Wind.”
As long as we forget how horrible it must have been for slaves, it evokes a nice picture. Not unlike Hitler’s utopian view of an “Aryan”
culture.
When I first heard the name “Lady Antebellum,” it occured to me that one doesn’t need an education to be a good musician. The name of the band, however, is unfortunate. To say the band’s name does not refer to a huge collective romanticization of the South before the Civil War is just ignorant.
No other country has that context…
You are correct in the definition of antebellum however if you look a little further it is a term that is particularly associated with the Civil War. It does appear there is more to the naming of the group than meets the eye. We may never know and I am sure the name will never change based on a few bloggers. But good to know I was not alone in making the observation.
I think the use of the word “Lady” indicates an architectural style, grand houses are often referred to as “Ladies” and to this day old pre-civil war houses in the south are referred to as antebellum style buildings. Many of these homes, especially in Atlanta were burned to the ground during the war, so those preserved are referred to as anti-bellum homes/buildings.
The Nazis were snappy dressers and created extraordinary, extravagant buildings. They could really throw a great party, too! Look at the great Nuremberg Rally, and the spectacular Olympics they presented! So…without trying to be controversial at all, I will start a singing sensation innocently named The Wolf’s Lair Wailers of the Thousand Year Reich! We’ll dress like SS Officers and sexy Aryan athletes. See you at the Grammys!
Uh, when I first read this post, I was surprised. Not that you would call out a great american country band, but by how ignorant you really are. The term Antebelum is not specific to any war. Antebelum is the period before a war, or pre-wartime. I’d like to know where exactly you got your info, as you have obviously not done your research.
It’s the U.S. Civil War only. *ante* and *bellum* are just the etymology that form the word. The very fact that Dixie hardliners refuse to admit their lost cause was evil and still fly their battle flag proves this war is still on! South Africa is healing itself from its Apartheid white regime — why can’t we?
You will have to excuse my horrible spelling, but that’s a cell phone for you.
Lucas,
I’m a person educated in US history long ago, so I can’t tell you when I first discovered this. But for the heck of it, I googled “define antebellum”
(link info below)
http://www.bing.com/Dictionary/search?q=define+antebellum&qpvt=antebellum+def&FORM=DTPDIA
I cut and pasted it below…..
ADJECTIVE
1.
before Civil War: belonging or relating to the time before the Civil War
2.
before war: preceding a war, or characteristic of the time preceding a war
Okay?
If you check it out, def. number one refers to the US Civil War, and def. number two refers to a general pre-war period. Capice? In other words, the Civil War reference comes first. But ya know, I remember a similar “forum war” about the term “uppity” – some of us said it has racial connotations, others didn’t. But boy, does it ever!
I have NO IDEA why people would deny that the first usage of antebellum in the US refers to our Civil War. And that the female singer has a 14 tatoo? Is this just a coincidence that 14 refers to the White Power creed? This, I can’t say. But I CAN say that when somebody utters the term antebellum in the US, they’re referring to pre-Civil War South.
But, unlike you, I would not call a complete stranger ignorant if he or she didn’t happen to know a particular thing – after all, there is a lot to know in the world. But sorry, you’re wrong on this.
I just deleted a comment with some seriously inappropriate language. This is not cool. I’m glad and amused that this random post still gets so much attention and so many comments, but please keep it civil. Insulting other commenters, especially with very potent curse words, won’t be tolerated.
I haven’t read all the comments, so what I’m about to say may have already been covered. If so, please disregard this comment. But I think it is an error to associate EVERYTHING about pre-civil war southern culture with slavery. What a lot of folks don’t seem to take into account is that only the very, VERY rich owned slaves. For every person who owned slaves there were, literally, thousands who did not. To say that the south was built on the backs of slaves does not paint the entire picture. Yes, large scale agriculture in the south used slaves for its workforce. But almost every other type of enterprise, and most small scale farming, did not. There were vast swaths of the population that were made up of hard working non-slave owning individuals who were living in the south because that’s where they were born, not because they were slave owners who didn’t want to give up their way of life. Should the music they played by the fireplace after a hard day’s work in the field be considered racist because they were living in the antebellum south when they played/wrote it? Should the folktales and nursery rhymes they told their children be considered racist because they were living in the antebellum south when they shared them? Should the quilts they sewed or the paintings they painted or the poetry they wrote be considered racist because they were living in the antebellum south when they crafted them? I believe it is a great injustice to classify all antebellum culture as racist. It is a narrow and biased view. I invite you to explore early nineteenth century southern culture more fully so that you may gain a more balanced perspective before passing final judgment.
I can see your point. Certainly the antebellum South, as a whole, wasn’t just about owning slaves, and to call the entire culture of that time period racist would be silly. However, when one uses the term “antebellum”, it usually has a specific connotation. Discussions about the Antebellum Era are rarely about poor farmers and their culture, but rather about the rich, aristocratic families who lived in ornate mansions on plantations and wore fancy dresses and spiffy suits… Gone with the Wind stuff, really. And all of this wealth and culture was built on the backs of slaves. “Antebellum”, as a term today, has a more specific connotation that just “the pre-war South”. It’s sort of like the term “Renaissance”… most of the Italian populace during the Renaissance were illiterate and unaware of the advances in learning and the arts going on in the palaces around them. Yet arts and knowledge is what we associate with the term. Similarly, “antebellum” is usually associated with the ornate trappings of the upper classes in the pre-war South. I completely agree that it’s wrong to paint the ENTIRE population of the pre-war South with the same brush, and that there are many fantastic and non-racist, non-slave based aspects of this culture as a whole, but the term “antebellum” is most often associated with the culture of those who lived extravagantly due to slave labour.
I am so encouraged by your courage, intelligence and honesty!
I LIKE THIS COMMENT
You must consider, however, that even though the majority of whites in the south did not own slaves, the vast majority of them upheld and helped to enforce the thoroughly racist southern culture which regarded blacks as inferior beings, less than human. Poor whites, not the wealthy plantation owners, served as overseers, slave catchers and the police forces that ensured blacks had virtually no prospects of ever escaping captivity. The white population in general was the force that kept all black people in the south “in their place,” so they too — except for a very rare few — are also guilty of having “unclean hands.”
I understand the point you’re making, but I think you’re looking at it through the wrong end of the telescope. You seem to be making the assumption that because something is so, then it must have the approval of the majority of the population. It’s important to realize that the government and legislature in the pre-civil war South was made up, almost exclusively, of the sons, brothers, cousins and brothers-in-law of the very rich. Those very rich folks were almost exclusively plantation owners who owned large numbers of slaves. These were the people whose interests the laws protected. These were the people the law enforcement personnel worked for. So it was the will of the plantation owners that was enacted, not that of the poor farmer, whatever that might have been.
So, keeping that in mind, let’s talk about what you’ve said point by point. First off, let’s introduce something called the Fugitive Slave Act. This was a law that attempted to turn every citizen throughout the US into a slave catcher. It was very sketchily enforced in areas where slavery was illegal, but in places where slave owners controlled the local law enforcement personnel, it was rigorously enforced. What did that mean for these “poor whites” whom you are accusing of “upholding and helping to enforce” the slave system? It meant that any person aiding a runaway slave by providing food or shelter was subject to six months’ imprisonment and a $1,000 fine (about $28,000 in present-day value). Since the majority of these non slave owners were farmers, let’s imagine they can magically afford to abandon their farms, their spouses, and their children while they are serving a six month prison sentence. And then we can imagine that they will then not return to their own farms, but will be forced to hire themselves out to pay off this $1,000 fine. The wages for farm hands in the pre-civil war South varied widely from state to state, but the average is about $9.40 a month. Read that again. That’s $9.40 a month, not a day, not an hour. A month. It would take them over 106 months to pay off that fine, or almost nine years. So that means that, in order to defy the Fugitive Slave Act, these people would have to abandon their farms and their families for… *crunches numbers on calculator* about 9 years, four months, and about ten days. In the mean time, who would provide for their families?
Think about it. That is an enormous sacrifice to make. If you were already just barely eking out a precarious living for yourself and your family, would you really dare take a risk like that? Taking that into consideration, are you entirely sure that those “poor whites” you pointed a finger at really had a choice in the matter?
Secondly, as to “the vast majority of” those in the south being actively involved in upholding this slave holding culture, let’s do some math. The population in pre-civil war South was about 31 million. Of those, about 4 million were slaves. This left 27 million free people living in the South at that time. According to the 1850 census, about 385,000 individuals owned slaves. That number includes those who owned only one, and those who owned over one hundred. That’s 1.4% of the free population in the south that owned slaves. One point four percent. Let that number sink in. 1.4% of the population controlled the law makers and law enforcers in that time and place. And they did so because they had many, many times more money than everyone else around them. (Anybody else thinking about our modern 1% who own over 40% of the wealth in America and funnel huge amounts into lobbying congress and influencing elections?)
So, once we do all the math, who is it that actually “upheld and helped to enforce” the slave system? We’ve got the slave owners. That’s 1.4%. Then we’ve got overseers. This quote from Gale’s Encyclopedia of US History illustrates why this is a difficult number to calculate:
“No one knows for sure how many overseers there were in 1860, but the best estimates are that the number of overseers was roughly equal to the number of plantations with thirty or more slaves. These men were a varied lot. Some were the sons of planters who served their fathers as overseers, learning the art of plantation management before striking out on their own. Others, perhaps the largest number, were semiprofessional managers hoping one day to set up their own agricultural operations. And still others lived up to the worst reputation of their class: violent men, often drunkards, unable to hold steady jobs, who moved repeatedly from plantation to plantation. But the average overseer rarely lasted in any master’s service for more than a few years. The best moved on to other things. The worst were fired. And even the merely competent rarely satisfied an employer for long. A bad crop year, sickly slaves, or the untenable contradictions of the job itself ensured that few overseers lasted long on any one plantation.”
Please note that overseers were not exclusively “poor whites”.
But, again, back to the numbers. Since the average number of slaves per owner ranged, depending on the state in question, from between 7 and 15, there really weren’t huge numbers of overseers. One source I’ve found states that 88% of slave owners owned 20 or fewer slaves, leaving 12% owning more. I’ll be generous and say that all of that 12% employed overseers (although other sources indicate they were rarely employed at plantations with fewer than thirty field slaves). So 12% of 385,000 is equal to 46,200. Setting aside the idea that some of those overseers were family members of the slave owner, we’ll assume they were all these “poor whites” you alluded to. They would make up about 0.171% of the free population in the South at that time. You read that correctly. Less than one fifth of one percent of the population of the South before the civil war worked as overseers.
What’s our total so far? 1.4% plus 0.171% equals… 1.571% of the free population is so far actively involved in implementing slavery.
Now let’s add in the law enforcement personnel. I’m afraid I can’t find any numbers for how many people worked in law enforcement in the South at that time. So I’m going to make a wild assumption that there is some consistency in that profession and use some modern figures. In 2004, 3.4 people were employed in law enforcement in the South for every 1000 persons in residence. That’s 0.34% of the population. Applying that figure to the entire population (free and enslaved) in the South at that time of 31 million, that’s 105,400 men. Assuming that those men were part of the 27 million free persons documented by the 1850 census, that makes it 0.39% of the free population working in law enforcement. So, 1.571% plus 0.39% equals… 1.961% of the free population that is actively involved in enforcing slave holding culture. That’s less than 2%.
Tell me, what kind of “vast majority” is 2%? Seems to me you’re forcing your preconceived notions onto a population without really looking into the facts. That’s a fairly common error, but an error nonetheless.
[For anyone wondering why I would wait so long to reply to comments, I had actually forgotten about this post and was reminded of it while reading about Darius Rucker performing with Lady Antebellum (apparently undismayed by their name) and thought I’d revisit it.]
Straw man.
The complaint is against Lady Antebellum, the vocal group’s name.
Stay on topic.
The name Lady Antebellum glorifies the vulgar, ostentatious neoclassical mansions of the Masters. The lurid, pretentious fashions, manners, and lifestyle of the white racist elites.
Tim,
Thing is, the entire culture WAS driven by the labor of slaves. I’m sure you have seen “Gone with the Wind” – if the movie is accurate, wow, what an opulent life the slave owners lived. I recently saw it again on TV. So much wealth, fancy mansions, and the women were elegantly dressed. Yet no one seems to work. In the book at least, Scarlett OHara took over her father’s factory.
But yeah, we have to be careful to stereotype people. Remember John Brown? Not all white people were racists, and some were totally disgusted by slavery.
But the slavery does, indeed, paint the era. It’s ironic that German people seem to have amnesia about WWII, yet US Southerners refuse to forget, and even celebrate their era of shame.
Btw, let’s also not forget that even though there weren’t that many slave holders in the North (there were some) the entire country colluded with slavery. After all, woven cotton was huge product for the North, and they wouldn’t have all the raw material without slavery.
Diane,
The entire culture of the upper classes was driven by the labour of slaves, sure, but most of those who lived in the South didn’t own slaves because most of the citizenry wasn’t wealthy. The culture of the lower classes was hardly slave-driven, though this culture is rarely what’s meant when we refer to “antebellum” today. It’s more the Gone with the Wind stuff. In retrospect, slavery definitely paints the era, but as you point out, not everyone in the pre-war South was pro-slavery. The upper classes who lived off them certainly were, but the lower classes probably didn’t have much of an opinion on it. Nonetheless, slavery was such an egregious part of this time period that it colours how we see it today… as it should, really… such things shouldn’t be set aside.
Sorry to differ with you, but the lower classes — all classes for that matter — enabled slavery by endorsing and participating in a culture that held it as a completely legal, socially acceptable institution, and which regarded blacks — slave or free — as less than human and not entitled to any rights at all. Lower class whites were (and sometimes still are) often the ones who treated blacks the worst, as a convenient means of elevating their own station by lording it over someone else — vulnerable as blacks were to total exploitation and abuse, with absolutely no legal protections, other than the arbitrary mandates and legal claims of random slave owners against “property” damage. In the antebellum days, many slaves fared better than free blacks because slaves at least had masters who might be willing to protect their “assets.” “Free” blacks were on their own against lower classes, middle classes and upper classes who regarded them with total disdain and contempt.
My adoptive father grew up in Alabama of the 1930’s and was viciously beaten at the age of 4 by a “lower class” white man, right in front of his mother who KNEW she better not say anything or both she and my dad would probably be killed. When he was 11, he saw his best friend, also 11, lynched from a tree for the Saturday evening entertainment of the local lower classes. (The word “picnic” comes from “pick a nigger” to be lynched while hordes of lower class white families sat around on the grass, leisurely eating their lunches and viewing the spectacle.) There was absolutely no legal recourse whatsoever — even in the 1930’s, way after the Civil War! There are many other horror stories of the total vulnerability of blacks in the south, even to the present, I could tell you — such as the man who, forbidden to learn to read, learned how anyway only to have some local lower class white men burn his eyes out — which have left the victims, like my father, so emotionally damaged that neither they, nor their descendants, will ever fully recover.
I’m grateful to you for starting this discussion by commenting on the name “Lady Antebellum,” but this is a subject which goes very deep. The term antebellum should actually be synonymous with 400 years of vicious, relentless atrocities perpetrated by an entire segment of a society against another. The term should never be uttered without complete and total shame.
This reply is actually for Beverly who posted below you but does not allow for a reply. The term “picnic” has no bearing on lynchings whatsoever. This is not to diminish the horrors that happened, only that you should be aware that it is a word of French origin preceding the Antebellum south by a good deal.
http://www.snopes.com/language/offense/picnic.asp
What’s the origin of your belief that modern Germans have forgotten about WW2? Habe you ever been to Germany? Take a tour of all the memorials, libraries, and actual sites which demonstrate the madness of Hitlerism. Take a look at the laws and school curricula dealing with Nazism. See any movies or books discussing this from every angle. The U.S. creeps and crybabies who are still throwing “rebel” tantrums because their side lost won’t let the Confederate cause expire. And the wimps who proffer blind positivism, who love ideological bridge building, are the unhistorical revanchists who demand we all just get along. That’s just wishing for peace without justice. Now THAT’S dangerous.
proud white chick:
Do you eat with that mouth?
Earlier this week I had to delete a comment for excessive swearing, and I posted a warning about that. Now I’ve deleted another comment… just so you know, ethnic slurs and wishing death to fellow commenters isn’t cool either. Please keep it civil, folks.
Antebellum is Latin for “before war.” Yes, it is associated with the Civil War, but not just the South. It refers to the whole pre-Civil War United States. I don’t see what the issue is…
Antebullum isn’ just a southern gig. it’s a complete time era description of a section of time between a conflict of foriegn power on our soil and a war that ruined families and pitted brother against brother, it was also an era of great growth and awakening of american society, which brought about that war. If your going to use it as a term you should spend a little more time revealing it’s true use, it’s meaning is backed by a time in which slavery ocurred, but it’s not incorperated or have anything to do with the term, it instead describes a time of awaking and realizing whats good and bad in society in that era
You’re not much for cultural context are you?
all the time, try study of social history sometime, heck you might even find out how close we are to that of the end of the roman empire!
W.I.Y – good point! We can argue about the Civil War so we don’t have to watch the Titanic going down.
Just read the comments section and had the biggeat laugh. I can definitely see where you could say that antebellum is a bad word choice for the band. But people jumping in and calling these kids under cover racial supremests is hilarious. What a joke. Her tatoo? Are you people serious? Its the number 14!!! That could mean anything!!! Ive never laughed so hard in my life.
Two things I really want to say(keeping in mind it’s one voice out of billions). First… Tim, you are so smart!!!
Second(and in my opinion more importantly),You don’t get that famous without carefully weighing the pros and cons of every decision you make. They knew about their name and either chose to risk it or figured it would appropriately target their country, confederate flag boasting fan base. Either way they are famous from finding a niche and supporting it to fruition by capitalizing on their gifts as artists and entertainers. Racist or not they have made a name for themselves. If there are individuals who wish to be more honorable in their quest to find success, they have the right to exploit their own gift in their own way with their own moral compass to guide them.
Those are my two cents.
Had no idea what significance that name held. I must say I am a fan of the group, and I would hope that their thoughts behind this name meant no disrespect.
Cocoannelle (cool name!) Amazing how many conments this got, eh?
If no disrespect was meant, it’s because some folks in the South have a very different take on the antebellum period of the Civil War. The opulence you see in “Gone with the Wind” was based on a large labor force of slaves. And, let’s face it, we know more about this period of our history from the movie than we do from history books. The North was busy with industrial work, and ya know that the workforce was often young girls with no prospects. The work conditions were pretty awful. The war pretty much ruined the economy of the South, and even today, I suspect there is some bitterness about this. There was no middle class at all back then, and the word “lady” in the name obviously refers to the way it was for the women on top of the food chain.
Stew is right, the name evokes a time that some might romanticize.
I don’t think anyone from the North or South can be proud of that war, though. After all, hundreds of thousands of American men died – and more from the North than South. The band’s name is a wistful allusion to the time before.
The number 14, by the way, is a symbol of “White Power” – is it a coincidence? The only person who could tell you is the woman in the band with that tatoo. On one hand, I think the band’s name is unfortunate, but we also have to remember that there were no “good guys” and “bad guys” in the Civil War. The North didn’t rely on slaves,
that’s all.
Here’s a P.S. – I’m glad so many people have passionate opinions about American history – our high school history teachers would be proud!
How is this racist? First of all, to everyone who’s been criticizing this band, no reason. Not your style? No reason to listen to it. Second, ‘antebellum’ simply means ‘before war’- so there is no reason to get mad because of it. IT’S A NAME, GET OVER IT.
OK, here’s a great new band for you. They’re called Grammy Gaschambers! They sing romantic songs about dreamy times of yore. As for the name, GET OVER IT!
That’s not the same thing. Referring to a type of architecture isn’t the same as a murder chamber.
Nobody is getting mad, dearie doodle – just people pointing out the obvious – many in the South has an incredibly romantic view of pre-war gentility, and the band’s name reflects this. And no, Virginia, it doesn’t “simply” refer to a generic pre-war thing. Why oh why would a southern country band pick this name? Cuz they’re alluding to an opulent period of time for the South that was based on slavery. But yes, all Americans have to “get over it.” One step might be realizing that the rampant display of confederate flags is offensive to many people. So is the name “Lady Antebellum.’ If anybody has to “get over” anything here, it’s the people in the South who not-so-secretly wish for this corrupt time. They lost the war, and slavery was abolished. Get over it! It’s as absurd as the Brits being pissed off that the colonists succeeded in creating the US. Meanwhile, many young Southerners, so it seems, are as oblivious to the realities of their past as young Germans are about the Third Reich. The former romanticizes a lost time, and the latter pretends it didn’t exist.
Don’t kid yourself, they way Southerners keep the antebellum period alive in their imaginations is pretty ugly.
It wasn’t long ago that black people had to sit in the back of the bus. Half a century or so. Wanna say that they liked it there?
check this out:
http://www.frumforum.com/why-southerners-still-honor-the-confederacy
Well aren’t we patronizing in spite of our stupidity. Suggesting that they all secretly support slavery and want it back is so inane. And you can’t discuss it in Germany, because they’re ashamed. Pro-Nazi sentiment can get you ARRESTED!
Thank you for your enlightening comment, but it was WAY worse than sitting in the back of the bus. There are authentic slave narratives — written by former slaves themselves — which detail the horrors they endured. Every American should be required to read them. They are all online.
“Antebellum” doesn’t mean pre civil war era. It simply means “before the war” (with no war held in reference) and has been so commonly used in reference to the American civil war that it has been accepted as the meaning. I honestly didn’t even know who lady antebellum was until about a week ago, because apparently I live under a rock. I am not defending or condoning their name choice or ulterior motives or meanings, so please, just take a breath before you all rip me a new one. I don’t even care enough to even check back for a reply, I just wanted to voice my knowledge. Take care!
Your voicing your ignorance. You confuse etymology of a word (antebellum) with its current usage.
What Randi said.
I am going make this short and sweet its stuff like this that keeps all of us against each other all the time as far as it being racist I don’t know and hope not , but let me say this if there are don’t just call out one there are many groups , and clothing line actor , actress , bands , singers and so on that is racist but always the white ppl that gets called out , now all this happen before our time that I am pretty sure of .
Blacks, as a people, are not racist. As a people, African-Americans don’t even have the power required to be racist — they are merely reacting to the vicious racism that has been perpetrated against them in this country for more than 500 years. If you really want to understand, read some slave narratives and auto-biographies of African-Americans to get a first-hand view of what life in America is like from their perspective. But, first, you have to be truly objective and open to the truth.
In the technical sense, everyone IS racist. That anyone can identify a group as a black race is BY DEFINITION racist. So the question is not who is racist (everyone) but who engages in unfair racist judgments? The answer to that is really that everyone, at some point, engages in that, some more often than others.
As for nobody having “power” to be racist, that’s just a lie. Go watch a comedy routine at the famed Apollo theatre and note how many racist comedians make jokes about white people and how heartily the whole audience laughs. That’s racism, sweety, in a really big way. Surely there is no comparison between the power of racism directed at African-Americans in the U.S. and the racism directed from them. But any complex system (humanity) has variations across time and space. Don’t think racism is a European invention and fixed in this place and time. It is timeless, borderless, and victimizes opportunistically. While you seem singularly fixated on racism as inherent to Europeans, racism itself is a phenomenon that is emergent from ALL interracial human dynamics. Don’t be so quick to pidgeon-hole it or restrict it or think some racism is more special than others.
You are an idiott. Get over your poetic justice liberal bullshit. You people blow my mind how you come up with every excuse why you are oppressed and living a legacy of enslaved people. Try getting up before noon and staying sober. Close your legs and stop expecting a handout. Stop bitching you sad phuck.
Gee, Anonymous, you really can get help for your issues. I’d say you were just an angry neurotic dude – to be sure, you’re a guy – but you’ve got an impressive amount of paranoia to deal with, too.
Alas, there is no psychiatric designation for presumptuousness.
Your post had good potential, but you ruined it. For your information, there are white people on welfare and big corporation get handouts.
P.S. Here we are discussing historical issues, but at hand is something far worse – Lady Antebellum makes oatmeal seem interesting. Their stuff (“music”) was written to be top 40 crap.
They are as esthetically offensive as the name is racist.
Salon has a really good essay about them, but why bother? Judging from the comments, their fans are foul mouthed, hateful low life with tin ears.
If you don’t like their music, shut the hell up!
Sorry but you are one dumb mofo! Blaming a group that has nothing to do with some racist BS that you make it out to be. You are grasping at straws, I’d laugh in your face and tell you how dumb you are. If anything it say’s a lot about your character and your ignorance. Don’t like the music, fine. Don’t like the singers, okay… This group has already reached the top of charts on multiple occasions.
Oh please! Just trying to stir the pot of hate. Ante-bellum also refers to the type of architecture of the time period. It was the architecture not the history that the group adopted as their name. Don’t make trouble where there isn’t any.
Good point, pennyb! Unfortunately, we will always have racist people, black, white, or others, who love to live in the past and stir up racial strife for all! Get a life!
Anon. and Pennyb – you guys really laff me off! First off, antebellum is used for any aspect of the antebellum period. DUH?! Secondly, we’re not talking about the band’s popularity. Trash makes all the cash, ya know. One thing is certain, this band sure has a lot of trolls for fans.
But flattery will get you nowhere – notice that the comments showing an utter lack of history are mean and stupid. It’s a sure bet.
Ugh, I swear I suffer brain-damage every time I read a comment from you.
Very interesting dialogue. Here’s my opinion. I am a young black woman who very much enjoys country music. I do like several of Lady Antebellum’s songs but have been put off by what I presumed the name meant. I finally decided to look it up. I’m not sure why several people who have posted have stated that antebellum refers to any war because I looked it up in several different places and all reference a specific link to the American Civil War. The band is reported to have referenced their name to Antebellum Architecture, however this Architecture is a description of homes built to accommodate a life style of slavery. As a black woman I have had several occasions in my life where another person has unknowingly used a racially insensitive term – I give them a pass the 1st time but take efforts to let that person know that what they said is offensive and hurtful and why. If that person, now knowingly, continues to use the offensive language I feel I have grounds to be upset. I find it hard to believe that this group decided upon a name that was so racially insensitive, at best, and were not advised of the connotations. They have knowingly decided to continue to use it. To me, that’s grounds for me to be upset and offended. My verdict is still out on how I should handle this as an avid country music lover. Like I said, I like Lady Antebellum’s music – but I find it disheartening that every time I listen to their great music that I must subject myself to having one of the most painful moments in American and Black history rubbed in my face with such flagrance because they thought it was a “cool” word. Also, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck – its most likely a duck. If Lady Antebellum doesn’t want to be reputed as racists then they should stop presenting themselves as racists. Antebellum is a word pack with incendiary imagery – and if you don’t want to be associated with that imagery you shouldn’t make that your headline.
CountryMusicLover:
I think yours is the definitve comment – sure, some people are not aware of the implications of the term “Lady Antebellum,” but this doesn’t mean that the implications are not there. I can well imagine how much more intense those implications are for a person who may have had ancestors in the South who were not sipping mint juleps on the veranda during this historical period. I’m with you. Incendiary images for sure! Bravo!
I can only imagine how you feel. I am a mid-aged white woman.
But, I would like to think that Lady A was with impressed with the beauty and the architecture like most people would be, because there is nothing like the south. (Although I have only seen those houses in pictures and movies). It is unfortunate that slaves existed. I don’t like the idea of it. But also remember there were white slaves before the black slaves. You sound like you have a good heart, please try not to be prejudice like the others here that can’t see past this.
Hey Tim the south lost to the north over 150 years ago so get over it
Get a life and get over it; it’s all in the past! There are many blacks who are just as racist as some whites! Al Sharpass Sharpton, and Jesse Jackson to name a couple!
Your moniker is certainly appropriate, daffy! Reverend Al Sharpton (who, with undoubtedly much more intelligence, education and class than you, would never denigrate someone he obviously doesn’t know anything about), and the Reverend Jesse Jackson, are civil rights advocates who respond to the vicious racism perpetrated against African-Americans AND other ethnic minorities to the present day. Neither of them would ever endorse any form of discrimination against anyone — not even whites or crazies like you. Without them and other similar courageous human rights advocates, this country would revert right back to Jim Crow due to the rampant overpopulation of ignorant, insensitive, daffy goons like you.
I’m wondering if it were your ancestors that were treated in this fashion if you would be so quick to “get over it” that’s really unreal, considering this is still an issue today when Mississippi only just finally ratified the law to abolish slavery in 2013, in case you didn’t know. The word “antebellum” is incredibly offensive specifically because it is a word that was created by whites in the south to romantically remember the “good old days” of slavery before the civil war, and I am hard pressed to believe that this group of individuals who grew up in those areas had no idea what the meaning of the word was when they chose to use it, which leads to a bigger discussion that nobody seems to want to have because they are popular.
Wow and you have the guts to make a blog about a band name? Whats yours Douchebag central?? Like seriously grow the hell up. Take your blog and shove it.
Good point, Anon! These are just crazy folks who just love to keep “playing the race-card”! They have nothing better to do than stir up shit, and claim everything racist!
Good grief! How old are you?? This is an adult conversation. You and daffy should just go outside and play.
The Internet never ceases to amaze me with the ignorant asshattery that people blog and comment about.
Also, I would like to add that Oreos are also racist. Whoever created them clearly favored blacks over whites. But perhaps they tried to right the wrong with double stuff Oreos…free your mind and your ass will follow.
Scratch the surface of any cracker, and you’ll find pure bile.
Lady Antebellum performed at the official Birthday party FOR the Oreo cookie itself, dontya know? They have been 100% silent about.their name since their initial sidestepping claim that it’s all about pretty homes. Homes run by slaveholding elites.
This is probably the most ignorant post I have ever read. Don’t even get me started on the comments.
Antebellum means ‘before the war’. It does NOT mean, ‘I hate black people and I am racist’. That is probably the dumbest thing I have ever heard in my entire life. Read a text book. The name basically means Lady Before The War. If they wanted to be racist, they would have named it Lady Klu Klux Klan. You Yankees need to hope off your high horses (Mr. I Hate the South — We hate you too Dumbass!), get away from you’re silly little comic books, and get back to school. All you asshats are the reason we Southerners detest the North so much. You’re simple minded, one sided, arrogant baffoons who never know what you’re talking about. Go read a fucking dictionary, asshole.
And the North didn’t rely on slaves?! That is the biggest load I have ever heard. All the southern products went to the north where they made a butt load off it. They may not have had slaves living on thier property, but they damn well did rely on slaves indirectly. All of America is responsible for slaves. It’s not the souths fault that the north didn’t have any extra land to cultivate.
Here’s the problem with your poorly reasoned comment. It’s not that the North was guilt-free for slavery. It’s that there are those in the South that EMBRACE their racist heritage instead of being disgusted by them. Lady Antebellum is an example. We all know that those parts of history existed. Do we honor them by naming our band after them? Probably not unless we’re ok with the history.
That first part is true, but the band isn’t racist. As over-sensitive as I can sometimes be…I don’t think it is by default.
Alabama Lady Antebellum Confederate Railroad..
do we have a PATTERN Here?!?
“Hope Neil Young will remember..Southern Man dont need him around anyhow..”
Lynrd Skynrd
where are you from?
I yelled something at the 2011 GrammyAwards. But the applause kept nearly everyone from hearing me. I yelled “Racist!” three times. My wife told me to cool it, so we wouldn’t get kicked out. Had I yelled it after the applause died, we would have been kicked out, but the publicity might have led to more awareness. They knew what they were doing when they names themselves.
You’re an idiot too eh? Read a dictionary before you scream at the TV the next time. You might burst a blood vessel or something because of your ignorance of words and their definitions. Antebellum means “before war” or “pre-war”..I know reading a dictionary and accepting what a word means is hard to do for a racist, but please, just accept the fact that you are wrong and are LOOKING for a reason to scream racism. Admit it, you hate white people and the south. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but their is more racism in the northern states these days than the south.
Without actually asking the band why they chose the name I cannot know what it really means. I would like to think that since Antebellum simply means Pre (ante) War (bellum) and that the USA is often refered to in the feminine that “Lady Antebellum” simply means the USA prior to the War on Terror, AKA before September 11th. But I will be told (by racist people) that I simply refuse to see the truth because I am caucasion. People see in others what they are ashamed of in themselves. There are always multiple interpretations to every action, if your first reaction is to scream racism then you might need take a look at yourself.
Your pseudo-psychological analysis is not very compelling. Most people know that while Antebellum may just mean before-war, that it is most commonly used to refer to a particular time in US history (i.e., pre-civil war). Also, FYI, the war on terror is still going on so we’re not “ante” it yet.
No, you refuse to see the truth because you’re willfully blind. You don’t want to see it.
Antebellum is just “before the war” or the period of time before A war, not only the civil war. It is like the calm before the storm
“It is like the calm before the storm” as in, american slavery was calm, and then that stormy civil war started.
It’s a chronological reference, not a political term. I wouldn’t lose my shit over it if I were you.
It’s not that simple for racist looking for something to cry about.
Your cutsie-pie country Muzak rebels deliberately picked out their name to honor Southern culture! Not Northern culture. Not African-American culture.
“Antebellum” refers to the chronological and political history of the evil White Supremacy which brutally ruled its slaveholding regime at that time.
The gorgeous houses, fashions and finery brazenly displayed the decadent excesses of the dominant power. Think “Hunger Games.” Or, Marie Antoinette.
By the way, for those who never learned how to use a dictionary… You can’t just chop apart the etymological guts of a word, then claim that as the “meaning” of the word.
Um…. it is just amazing how you get racist overtures from the word antebellum. It is a latin word that has been around for thousands of years….it means “before war”. Houses, plantation homes, buildings, streets, and architecture that existed before the civil war in the south as well as the north are referred to as antebellum. There is no way, shape or form that any sort of racial, or oppresive under tone can be taken from that word. So….. stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
I have skimmed most of this so forgive me if this has already been said. But, The name means pre war, pre civil war. Lady is a word they threw in front because it sounded good.
My thought,
This is like talking about the confederate flag. It can be looked at as a good or bad thing. Those that always think of the past, is going to think bad.
Those that look at the future is going to see the flag as a flag that once existed. (When this great country was divided!) We now have moved on from that.
We are one under God, one under the great american flag we know today. I think that is what counts now, don’t you?????
So why keep us divided? We should remember the past, learn from it, but get over it a little too. You don’t allow poeple to improve things if you always keep reminding of the bad. Think about it. That is just as prejudice as you claim “Lady Antebellum” to be.
That’s like saying a swastika is just a geometric design ! The only people who want to forget that there is pain behind such symbols (a including that ugly Confederate flag) are people who are descendents of the people who caused that pain!
The swastika was taken from several Asian countries and meant peace. It still does in places that people practice Jainism, Buddhism, etc. Please do research next time.
Precisely! People want to bury their heads in the sand and hope that it will all go away, instead of facing the ugly, awful truth that’s never been fully disclosed to “mainstream” America! Those of us who are descended from the flip side of the coin under discussion can’t bury our heads in the sand. We have to live with the truth and the devastating legacy of the horrific American past every day of our lives.
Finally, a post that includes a message of common sense! It’s time for RACIST BAITERS to shut the hell up!
The phrase “under God” wasn’t added until the McCarthy era.
Yes, darling, but you see it was the Lady Antebellum who has decided to raise this question. I’ve been in musical groups. Choosing your name is an exciting milestone, your identity, how you want the world to see you.
Lady Antebellum = Scarlett O’Hara?
Lady Antebellum = White Princess?
Lady Antebellum = Slaver’s Trophy?
Ignorance begets ignorance, so I’m not surprised when people do stupid things like naming a band “Lady Antebellum”. I am a black female, and to be quite honest, I care less of what the name truly means. Everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion; therefore, he/she can use the name Lady Fool, for all I care…we live in a democracy.
But from a personal point of view, when I think of the word, “Antebellum,” it reminds me of defeat…and the sad state of how people today are still trying to live in the past. Sad… Well, the past is gone, never to exist again. Slavery has been defeated, the blood and sweat of those who have gone before us have proven effective.
With this said, Lady Antebellum (the entire band) can grovel in the pre-Civil war era all they want…it’s history, literally, lol! Also…chew on this Lady Antebellum, because of the post-Civil war era (actuarlly, the end result…the defeat of the Confederacy), this black woman is soon to be “Dr Blackwoman,” something the antebellum era would have NEVER allowed, lol!
Lastly, I believe that not only the band, but the managers, producers, record label, etc…already know that our society tends to suffer from severe apathetic interests (a true oxymoron) of wanting to know the “real” meaning behind anything in the media. For all they care, anything is permissable as long as it sounds good, and the ignorant remains ignorant!
Great logic! I applaud you for your accomplishments; congrats!
(From a “deep southern” caucasian in Tennessee, who would like to see all aspects of the racism element disappear. I’m a Vietnam veteran; who witnessed various bodies of all races loaded on stretchers; guess what, their blood was all the same color!).
I’ m going to give the kids the benefit of the doubt and say I don’t think they are racists BUT incredibly thoughtless like the people who think using a Confederate flag is not an insult to people of color! ForBlack people, the ‘antebellum period was slavery!
Isn’t it amazing how lots of people get worked up about the legacy of slavery in the American deep south, but not so many of them get this wound up about the way the so called civilised Americans treated the Native Americans and still do.
Just saw your post after I posted…thank you very much for realizing a bigger issue.
That’s bc Natives are the REAL minority now, while the race who claims to be gets catered to by mainstream U.S. for fear of idk what, bc they only represent@12% anyway.
White people aren’t native to the US, and most of the black people at residence were born here. The actual natives were here way before even vikings ever set foot here. Think before you post!
No, Paul. I am African-American and I get just as worked up about the wholesale slaughter and reprehensible mistreatment of indigenous Americans as I do about the abuse of blacks in this country; the victimization of the Vietnamese and Cambodian people during the war in Indochina; the Jews, Poles, Gypsies and millions of others murdered by the Nazis; innocent Europeans victimized and hopelessly scarred during World Wars I and II; Palestinians, homeless and suffering under the yoke of Zion; the Iraqis bombed out of their own homes and brutalized during Iraq Wars I and II; the completely harmless innocents of the Andaman Islands, last pure remnant of the original peoples of the Indian subcontinent, who now face annihilation at the hands of other, non-indigenous East Indians hell bent on stealing the last vestiges of their meager land resources; the people of East Timor recently threatened with annihilation by a racist government there; the Chinese people brutalized during the Communist Revolution and now exploited so miserably by their own; children in Africa, enslaved by their own and others now on cacao plantations so that Americans and Europeans can have an overabundance of cheap chocolate to enjoy; and everyone else used, abused, and murdered by other so-called people. I weep and pray for every soul hurt and brutalized at the hands of other men.
The point is that we are all human beings and not in competition with one another over who has suffered most under the tyranny of oppression, or deserves the most attention in the aftermath. We must stand together, in solidarity, against all forms of oppression. I am totally with you on the murder and mistreatment of Native Americans (many of whom, by the way were black — from Africa. See, “They Came Before Columbus,” by Dr. Ivan Van Sertima, formerly of Rutgers University, now deceased, and “Ancient Egyptian Survivals in the Pacific,” by R. A. Jairazbhoy.)
We are one. We must think and behave accordingly, with empathy, kindness and love toward all.
Name one.
Not a fan of the band so don’t think I’m defending them but antebellum by definition refers to time before a war with an emphasis on the American civil war. Yes that time period involved slavery but the word itself isn’t a direct correlation to that perticular issue. Why aren’t you taking issue with the way Native Americans were treated during this time and after? Capturing human beings to force them into slavery is one thing and very wrong but outright killing off a group of people is on a whole other level. If you want to take issue with a certain problem maybe you should look at the whole picture first…Native Americans got the shorter end of the stick overall.
This page is directed at an offensively-named band, that’s why people are not discussing the Native American issue.
i personally love this band and have the albums i really think black people have massive chips on their shoulders i mean you just have to say something could be anything and its racist racist racist and they all jump on the band wagon… seriously get over it and get a life after all white people have to put up with racist remarks all the time and and dont bang on about it like blacks. peace out.
“They all jump on the bandwagon” Generalize a whole race much? Why do you think they chose that name?
Leftwingers are just plain freaky.
N.W.A. anyone?
Christ i hate negros, and their white coolie allies. I ook forward to the next civil war. White liberal leftists and blacks will share the same fate; They’ll end up in their mixed race hell hole, while white patriots will end up with a new nation; a white only nation devoid of self-haters and the infernal negro.
You are obviously psychotic and should be on some kind of medication. You were obviuosly abused as a child in order to be a racist.
alex, u r incredibly dumb. I am surprised u figured out how to use a computer
Wow, just wow. You really should go start a new country, preferably on an uncharted island. Have fun being homogeneous and more prone to disease.
I believe the research some people did here regarding the meaning of “antebellum” is WRONG. It just means “before the war”, so stop the ‘paranoia’!!!
Get educated. Antebellum means before the Civil War in all history literature in America and it refers to Antebellum South and Antebellum Slavery. Get real. The group members are card-carrying KKK.
Get educated, you say?! Obviously, you’re not very educated; if you are, then you just lack any degree of common sense, you frigging moron!
Southerners should be falling on their civil war swords over slavery, and instead they’re waxing nostalgic about it. It’s disgusting. “Lady Third Reich”, anyone?
I think people should be outspoken about the racist name and try to start a boycott. It’s like calling your band Lady Nazi Germany.
You definitely don’t know what the hell you’re talking about! People like you see “racism” everywhere, because you choose to!
By the way, I see African-Americans in Toby Ketih videos, Garth Brooks, and Martina McBride. Not in Lady Antebellum videos. Not a one.
So, big frigging deal! They are a brand and a business, and they can hire who the hell they want!
That could be a coincidence or you haven’t looked hard enough.
If you people did the research, you would know that they went to this town, Franklin TN, and took a picture of a very old home. When they showed it to a friend, he told them the word Antebellum, Latin for before war, And they didn’t even know what the word meant. Then they just put random words in front of Antebellum, and the word ‘Lady’ stuck. Gosh people Get your crap researched right.
About 10 years ago a foreign correspondent wrote a book call Fascist Architecture (really showing the intimidating thrust of Saddam Hussein ‘s grandiose public structures). Buildings have purposes and social/political meaning. Great buildings are monuments to what that country views as the apex of civilization and power.
This blogger and most of the people agreeing with him in some sense or another (some reasonable others a bunch of crazies) are so misinformed. Antebellum is Latin – “ante” meaning “before” and “bellum” meaning “war”. That’s it. True that in the States it is accepted that is means pre-Civil War, but it still just means “pre-war”. Because of the fact that this war was the war to essentially end slavery, the “era of slavery” is sometimes referred to as “antebellum slavery”. You cannot let the word “slavery” change the essential meaning of the word “antebellum”! That is just nuts! Does it mean that “antebellum architecture” is tainted by slavery? Of course not! Or at least it shouldn’t be…
The benefits of slave labor built those houses. So, yes, they are tainted. Just like Versailles is tainted. Versailles is magnificent, yet was built by hoarding money earned by others. If you can’t live with the reality of that taint, so be it.
As for changing the meaning of a word, those of us currently living in the U.S. know that antebellum is (and probably always will be) a reference to the socioeconomic state of the Southern States during the era of slavery. Northerners don’t refer to their local buildings from 1830 as “antebellum”. We say they are from 1830. Don’t try to be coy about the culturally normative meaning of “antebellum”, because you’re only too cute by half.
Finally, since Latin is taught even less than it was 150 years ago, I wouldn’t expect “antebellum” to take on any different popular meaning anytime soon. So, please save us from your arguments. The etymology of “antebellum” is one thing, the import of the word in modern American culture, especially when associated with a southern band, is another.
I disagree 100% in my architectur class it is a term used, yes as A southern “pre war” term but that is all. there is no racist connotation. You are saying (slavery is bad, the south had slaves, therefor any word refering to the south is bad) that’s just an informed statement. In class we often referred to antebellum architecture, which refers to the building style in the south, which happens to be plantations, but also churches banks, and any other kind of building in the pre war south.
Saying that this name is bad simply because it refers to the time era of pre war south is the same reasoning that says that you can not use the term “nigardly” or “renege” because they sound bad. When both words are highly advanced forms of speech, the first meaning (cheap, or penny pincher) and the later meaning (to take back).
I understand your jumping to conclusions, because that’s what most people do, but before you rant and rave about it, educate yourself about the true meaning of the word. This band is simply proud of where they came from, the same reason why I fly a rebel flag off the back of my jacked up 4X4, not because I think blacks should be slaves.
Did this gang of dopey ignoramuses also visit the slave’s quarters?
So,.for all the semiliterate chumps who insist that Antebellum only refers to “duh…before…ANY OLD WAR…Gotchya!” — OK, let’s accept your wrong and irrelevant confusion.
Please suggest what, exactly, remains so winsome and nostalgic about the era of white supremacy and enslavement of blacks?
I would just like to say that a quick look at the definition of “Antebellum” would do everyone a whole lot of good! “Bellum” is the Latin word for war and the prefix “Ante” simply means “Before”. If a band wishes to relish a time before a war, if they are in fact meaning the Civil War, then that is their prerogative. Like there aren’t enough real problems in this society to be worried about what some musicians (which tend to be the liberal part of a society anyways) name themselves!
I am not a fan of this kind of music, but one time I was browsing through a record store back in the 80s. Walking past the country section, I saw a tape by a band called Confederate Railroad. Any opinions on that?
The civil war was less about slavery than it was about creating a central government. The slavery thing was a byproduct of the north winning the war; a politically correct move. Hell, we’re all slaves now, we just don’t realize it. At least the negros knew their plight. When somebody says “confederate” people instantly think “racist.” Oh we’ll, better than being a damned yankee. Long live the south.
After the Emancipation Proclamation, the war was definitely about the slaves the associated economy.
Amen, Leroy. Couldn’t have said it better myself. It was & still IS all about the $$$. The root of it all being Capitalism. My ggg-granfather was a Confederate soldier & even in the book he wrote about his time in service, he said he wasn’t fighting for slavery, nor did he own any, but he damn sure was fighting for his homeland: VA. That’s a US ploy, to make it all about slavery to save their own necks in front of the slave descendants.
Former cell phone typo, should’ve been: ‘ggg-grandfather’.
Their charters admitted it was about slavery. That wasn’t the only reason, but it was part of it. That still doesn’t make “antebellum” racist.
By the way, the secession probably would have destroyed the country or made the US into TWO different countries. I don’t know about you, but that would have sucked imo.
All people are racist, in one way or another. It does not matter what color your skin is. I do not live in America. I am not American. I found this blog whilst looking up the meaning of Antebellum, as I did not know. The answer came back to me, Latin, per war. All the name calling and offensive writings on this blog amazed me. Americans think they are the only country to be caught up in war. Sorry to let you all know, but your not. Maybe you all need to move forward with your lives, so that your country can properly heal. The rantings on this blog show the your country is no better now, than it was way back before the Civil War. To Lady Antebellum, you are amazing artists, please go on entertaining those that love your music, to those that don’t, what does it matter to you anyway. Grow up, move forward, and forget your own bigotted slandering of other people.
“Forgetting” history is the best way to repeat it. Bad idea.
Being obssessed about the negative aspect of it is even worse!
Ha ha. Daffy’s reply here brings to mind that classic Twilight Zone episode, where Ron Howard (simultaneously cute and terrifying) portrays a mind-reading, telekinetic evil kid who forces all the tormented adults in his town to only think nice things — or else he “wishes them into the cornfield!” Daffy, you’re a fine boy, a very nice boy and everybody loves you. Nothing is unpleasant.
Comparing people like Daffy here who always look on the bright side of life (history) when their advocacy (just let it go) to 5 year old Twilight Zone evil-telekinetic kid is funny. Except that was Billy Mumy (not Ron Howard). The case holds, though. Whites often can’t admit we’re deeply entangled in the psychosis of racism…growing directly from the Antebellum slavery economy. Pretty houses and flamboyant costumes gave nouveau riche Southern bosses delusions of grandeur…which morons like Lady Antebellum have the privilege of drooling over!
What do you think about the band, “Screwdriver?”
No one asked you to forget your history
Just move forward, to make your country a better place to live in.
Uh, I think you did. Quoting you: “forget your own bigotted slandering of other people.”
I get offended by words and letters too. DAMN YOU capital “T!”
lol
… the lamest thing I have ever read. Do you honestly think those people are going to name themselves “WeLoveSlaves”? [Lady]Antebellum means the same thing as Dixie[Chicks]: We love the south. If there was any bit of merit to your argument, don’t you think we’d hear about it somewhere other than your COMIC BOOK BLOG. I am laughing out loud.
Actually Antebellum means Before(Ante) and War(Bellum). It is a Latin work. It is not specific to any particular war or nation. If it were specific then common sense would dictate that it would be referring to a European war since the languages of France, Italy and Spain are derived from the original Latin, which is now a dead language.
Lady Antebellum came up with their name when they were driving around Tennessee to get pics to put on their myspace profile. They were in a district that had alot of fancy houses with the big columns. Charles(male singer) saw a house and commented “That’s a really beautiful antebellum home”. Hillary(female singer) didn’t know what that meant so Charles explained that those houses were built before the civil war… hence antebellum houses. Hillary liked the sound of the name and then they added Lady to it.
The fact that it happened to be built before the civil war has no bearing on slavery or prejudice. This name could have been given to any house built before any war. It just became attached to these particular houses because of the unique beauty and style of these houses which happened to be built BEFORE the WAR.
So hopefully now, everyone can rest in the knowledge that Lady A is not supporting slavery nor prejudice. Their name is derived from the name of a beautiful style of house that was built before a war.
How half-witted this and all similarly sophomoric posts are. If you could travel back in time, Jenny et al, you wouldn’t hear any ancient Romans saying the word “antebellum.” It’s a historical coinage invented after the Civil War to distinguish this period specifically. The American people have a popular fantasy about how great the Slavery era was. The singing group expresses sentimental adoration of the Slaveholders’ wealth and power.
4 words, “Anthony Johnson colonist 1620”. Look it up and see who started this mess in America.
While I know that several people have already done this. As an Historian, I do have make one thing perfectly clear. The Antebellum period used in this context ABSOLUTELY refers to the time before the U.S. Civil War, and not any other war. This is how it is discussed in history books, by professional historians, and in history classes across the country (at least at the college level). In the same way that there have been many depressions and many of them have been great, when people refer to the “Great Depression” we should all know what they are talking about. I am baffled by the number of intelligent sounding posts on here, who seem to be unaware that the Antebellum Period is a recognized and well documented period in U.S. History.
That said…I don’t think that the band chose the name because they are racist. Actually, since I don’t know them, I can’t say one way or another, but I doubt that their name is intended to be overtly racist. I think they chose it (as they have said) because they like the architectural style and the sound of the word. My guess is that they simply had no clue that three white kids from the south using the name might come across to a lot of the country as very insensitive.
However, there is something to be said for racial ignorance as well. Three adults (or even teenagers, I don’t know when they came up with the name) should be familiar enough with U.S. History and racial relations in their country to understand what is offensive about their name.
We shouldn’t ignore the history of that period, nor should we ignore that not everything in that period was ugly. However, I do wish they had thought their name through a little more clearly. Of course, now that they have established themselves under that name, I don’t think we can expect them to change it.
Tim, I am glad you posted this, it has been a lively discussion, and one that people should have when these things are noticed. If someone had pointed out to the band how offensive their name would be to some people I’m sure they would have chosen something else.
Yes, cause the righteous “slave free” north must’ve been a pure force of good, and the south was nothing but a racist cess pool. there’s to the story my yankee friends, and you all can eithere seek the truth between the two sides, or continue to judge things you all don’t understand
The truth? Look in the mirror, fella, the problem is not with Northerners. We fully recognize the truth. The point is that the Northerners do NOT continue to whistfully look back on those days. We know things were ugly (though the vast majority of the “benefits” of slavery were in the South).
Why do some Southerners idolize a fantasy world that never existed while most other people do not? That’s the root issue here, and Lady Antebellum is an example of it.
I just had to delete a bunch of comments again, gang. Now, I’ve allowed a lot of leeway in the comments here, but there is a line and let me reiterate it: Please don’t swear at other commenters, and don’t use the n-word. You’ll just be wasting your time and your comment will be deleted. Also, don’t pretend to make an “intellectual” argument under one name and then post racial slurs under another. I can see the IP address 🙂 Anyway, carry on but be nice, please.
That is ridiculous. They got their name from posing infront of antebellum style houses. Which is pre war. people like you that dig into something and make it seem racist is exactly this nations problem
For 2012 Lady Antebellum has a winter album to wish a very WHITE CHRISTMAS. The stars and bars at the NYC Christmas tree lighting was just the start of the Rise Again! Down with tyrants!
Haha, that’s actually funny. Nice job with the satire. 🙂
Satire? What satire? That stuff about the Rockefeller Center Xmas tree is true. So along with big corporate buildings, excessive shopping, and self-congratulatory fanfare, we get a dose of Old South sentimentality too!
Antebellum is an architectual term denote the style of homes prior to 1860. It is a crazy nonrelevant term for a singing group, but then so is Beetles. It has nothing to do with the pre-civil war south in any way other than the style of homes! Some people will always look for the negative in life. It goes to intent. Get over it or you could be supsect of being racist.
Antebellum is ONLY used to refer to glorious Free White Nation before the War of Northern Aggression. Lady Antebellum honors proud Confederate cause! Take back our God-given power over these manifest Lands.
No. It. Is. Not. Shut up!
You’re all anti-Caucasian racist idiots.
I wouldn’t go that far.
Seriously? Did anyone even consider looking this word up in a DICTIONARY? The word is of Latin origin and simply means PREWAR… nothing more, nothing less. Educate yourselves folks… it’s easy in this day and age. With the internet at your fingertips it is almost impossible to remain uninformed.
In Latin ‘bellum’ means war and the prefix ‘ante’ means before.
Wow! You really cleared this up. Did you happen to read the thousand other comments that said exactly the same thing? You’re right. That is technically the definition but the term is ALWAYS used to describe before the civil war. Always.
yes, i have no life so i spent time reading all the many other comments… who gives a shit if i stated what someone else said… no i didn’t read the other comments… why would it be so bothersome to you? thank you so much for keeping the thousands of us who repeated each other in line….
Idiot: you’re confusing Etymology of words with word Usage.
Also, Context is everything.
if you look up antebullum in the dictionary it just means pre war or before a war and is not exclusive to the american civil war.
just saying
Seriously?! Look up the word. Break it down for the weak minded. Ante- pre or before. The word bellum means war. Before war. Plain and simple. Quit trying to make something what it’s not.
I am very anti-racism and hate that blacks were so disrespected, tortured and completely crushed for the ego of many whites. But, I have a view that I’d like to throw out there for you to consider. Before the war, there was a time in the whole US of gentile graciousness and charm that was lost when people began arguing over what should have never happened at all. African natives should NEVER have been kidnapped and brought here to be treated like animals. Anyone should have been allowed to come here of their own will, but never ever forced and certainly never treated so horrendously. Still, it’s the good parts of that period before the war that I like to attach to the word antebellum. The graciousness and charm that the modern world so rarely exercises. I hope this is coming out the way my heart wants it to and I hope maybe this view can shine a light on the word that is easier to swallow and not so bitter. Maybe I’m naive, but I hope that my positive attitude can help to improve the lives of others because I really do care. God bless you.
OMG! If you listen to their records backwards it quotes Hitler’s “triumph of the will” speech!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
You are so full of it, dog breath!
You seriously couldn’t tell that was a joke?!
Was Slavery a good thing? NO! Is Racism a good thing? NO! Is the depth of some peoples stupidity a good thing? NO! Is the word “Antebellum” about glorifying slavery or racism? NO! The most common use of the word is to simply reference the type of architecture that was common in the south at the time. So should all these beautiful homes be torn down, simply to eliminate the use of the word? NO! Is trying to eliminate historically based facts from the consciousness of the general public, by never mentioning anything that could be construed as being connected, a good thing? NO! If the group Lady Antebellum was all black, would this even be an issue? NO! Does the bands name have anything at all to do with slavery, or racism? NO! Would changing the name to “Lady Emancipation” be better? NO! Is finding an excuse to complain about the word just because, in your mind, it brings forth issues about slavery, and memories of racism, a good thing? NO! Again, does the word really have anything to do with slavery or racism? NO! Is every, or any, white person alive today at fault for slavery? NO! Are there much better things, and more important things, that someone should spend their time being upset about? YES!
A gentleman recently wrote a book about his family’s boiler/oven manufacturing business which (only a small part of their production) built the Gas Chambers for the Nazi death camps. It would be easy to find. Each oven displayed an ornate door emblazoned with his family name and crest. It’s honorable to respect the great history of white people.
One word to describe this blog: “Vomit.”
If “antebellum” is racist, then the hair around the Pope’s assh*le is racist. Get a life you pathetic loser.
ANTEBELLUM refers to the time when the White Man subjugated the dark, savage and subhuman, as proclaimed in the holy bible! There great mansions and plantations the grand manifestation of White Destiny, the beauty of our supremely affected women displayed the pure bejeweled heart of our Kingdom. The are the Eternal Truths to which our inferiors must bow and scrape, grateful to serve their righteous Masters and Mistresses.
You’re not funny. A building can’t be racist unless it has epithets and slurs on or in it.
God bless you! The 14 speak volumes of truth. Now, if you want to look at some awesomeness, look up beautiful ambitions the Third Reich had to build a glorious WORLD CAPITOL CITY called New Berlin! So I understand why Lady Antebellum were so deeply moved by spectacular Southern mansions, finery, social order, and righteousness.
So many sad people trying to be PC it is sickening. It has gotten down to whining about the meaning of a word, and what you can associate with it. A Latin word that was around long before slavery Then you have ever rap singer out there calling females bitches and whores, pretending to be gangsters and thugs. I don’t now what happened, or when, but somewhere along the way a lot of Americans because over sensitive wussies. If you don’t like something by god don’t listen to it. It you find that radio station or television channel offensive change it. With every thing good there has to be bad, and with blogs every nitwit can throw in his two cents.
That’s a good point. So much offensive rap goes platinum, and nobody cares. That really needs to change…music like that needs to be rejected.
Hey, Somedumbrandomdweeb: you’re just pulling racist mythology outta yer arse!! To highlight just one person, out of bazillions more, who have been striking back HARD against so-called Gangster Rap, read a biography of Queen Latifa. Ever heard of her? Ever hear of Public Enemy? You’re just a common piss-ant racist robot who belongs on the crapheap of sordid history.
My family and i like this songs-i need you now…soul for me as father for 3 daugther from malaysia. Peace!
“Antebellum” refers to the time before ANY war, not just the American Civil war. You could say the years before World War Two were antebellum, or the years before the Vietnam war, etc., but it is not often done.
Thus their name might translate as “Lady of the times before the war.” Perhaps a lady of the good times, of peace, and harmony, not necessarily a lady of the American south, who might endorse slavery.
Your contention is a straw man, blog author.
Here is just a thougt for you all….
Is what they decided to name THEIR band really affecting you in anyway?…..
NO I didnt think so!
So, with this being said, I think all of you should really look at the truth lying behind the beginning blog that started it all…Only one who felt prejudice feelings of some sort would put the idea out there! Just saying.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogyJYYJ8wew 5:15 they don’t even know what antebellum means or are they selectively choosing a narrow definition for it on purpose?
Antebellum is a time period before war . ANY war . Here in the US we use it as the time period before the American Civil War.
They said they chose the name because it “sounds cool” on an interview I heard. Yes, because it “sounds cool.” Sure. I really like them though! I only found this blog because I’m about to study the Antebellum Period in a few weeks (yet have to write a paper on it BEFORE I learn about it). I’m black and didn’t know what the word means. Anywyas, I was happy that they won over “Forget You” by Cee Lo because THAT song was annoying, but “Need You Now” was EVERYWHERE, and I don’t even like country (Taylor Swift is the exception, if she’s even really “country”) and I freaked out every time it was on the radio. Anyways, 🙂 P.S. Don’t judge me username…the other one.
” If you reference ANYTHING as ‘antebellum’, you bring with said reference the legacy of slavery… the two are inextricably connected.”
Only if you are an American. As a Milton scholar, when I think of the antebellum, I think of pre-Cromwell Britain. The word means “pre-war”, not “pre-American Civil War”.
I know this band is from the south, so your interpretation of the name’s meaning is likely correct, but the statement I quoted above is simply not true.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/antebellum
Antebellum or ante-bellum (literally, Latin for before the war) may refer to any pre-war period
On the BBC Radio 2 Drivetime Show August 9, 2010, the band explained to the host, Liza Tarbuck, that the name Antebellum comes from when the group were photographing antebellum homes.
Im extremely liberal, but this is just stupid. Even if it didnt mean pre-war in general, you cant say that every single thing from that period is racist.
I don’t like the band cause my mom dose like it
I like the band Lady Antebellum. Why is it that it is still sooo wrong for a caucasian to embrace their roots, but when a negro does it NOBODY says a word? A negro can spew profanity and degrade women all day long, and it is considered art and expression. As Cee Lo Green sang, “…so fuck you, and fuck her, too.”
“I like the band Lady Antebellum. Why is it that it is still sooo wrong for a caucasian to embrace their roots, but when a negro does it NOBODY says a word? ”
Wow, how dumb are you? Yeah, what could be wrong with embracing your roots when those roots are primarily about genocide and enslavement of an entire people group? And of course you already know that it’s not true that “nobody says a word” when a “negro” embraces his or her roots: idiots like you foam at the mouth when that happens. Good job being a racist idiot.
It’s already been said many times on this forum, but this group should have at least been more sensitive in selecting a name. I agree with other posters who suggested that a musical act of this magnitude would be guided every step of the way by a team of public relations and legal specialists. How they could have let this one “slip” is, frankly, beyond me, thus I’m inclined to believe the name and the “14” tattoo were deliberate.
Revolutions, revolts and racist attacks require funding. Even the Nazis could not have existed without huge infusions of cash — much of which came from colluders right here in the USA, with other sources streaming from the stolen assets of their victims. The music industry is one of the largest revenue streams in the world.
When you buy people’s products, you give them power, and endorse their objectives.
FUCK WHITE PEOPLE!
Why not, who doesn’t like getting laid?
Look up definitions of words before you post ignorant comments. The definition of antibellum means before a theatre of war!
Oh for fucks sake. Political correctness has brainwashed so many people into utter stupidity. – Antebellum means “before a war” the US civil war in particular. Oh, and racism is just as rife among those NOT white. Funny how these PC morons refuse to see it, or ignore it out of convenience. Just accept people as they are and DON’T get on your pedestal ranting about stuff you know NOTHING about
Perhaps the technical definition is “before a war”, but there is a difference between definition and connotation. The connotation of antebellum now is a loaded term referencing a “perfect” society built by slaves who were treated worse than animals. Also, the concept of political correctness does not “brainwash” someone, and by saying that and effort to remove racism from society is bad, than you are basically saying you don’t support equality for everyone no matter what race they are, and therefore you are being racist. And many people here who are being politically correct, or, since that term seems to piss you off, how about “not racist”, actually are making logical and valid arguments. So try taking your foul language and bigotry and shoving it up your urethra you douchebag.
“and” is not necessary before “therefore” . Therefore, shove it up your political correct ignorant Yankee ass (: …oh yeah…you are a douchenozzle!!!!
i think you are all a bunch of idiots going on about this. if they were racists they wouldnt be doing benefits for africans. grow up
actually down here in the south if refers to a type of house…. and since most “good ole country boys” come from the south I can see why they named themselves that. geez, just like a racist to call someone else racist. give it an go back to your comic book rants and raves ( it seems that is all the smarts you in that little brain of yours) and leave the naming of things to those best suited for it.
p.s. here is a lamens dictionary page for you to reference http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antebellum
and a much as I hate wikipedia — i figured it was right up your alley (lamens terms term that is)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antebellum_architecture
I guess I’ll have to take your word for it, that you use a “lamen’s dictionary.” The Latin, Greek, Old English, and other etymological roots in a word can’t just be sliced and diced then presented as that word’s meaning. “Ante” as a Latinate prefix is a bound morpheme. But if you traveled back in time to ancient Rome, you won’t find two guys sitting around at a bar, drunkenly arguing about the U.S. Antebellum Period! That’s because “antebellum” is a term created in the 19th Century to encapsulate the Slavery-based society of our Southern states, before the outbreak of the Civil War.
1.5 million – number of children that die of hunger… A year!!
3.6 seconds – The time between people dying of hunger.
800 million – number of people who suffer from hunger and malnutrition.
20,864 – number of people who died today of hunger…. I could go on and that is just hunger. Lets not forget other topics like rape, murder, child and woman abuse etc etc etc…
So maybe if you feel you wanna do the world a favour. Then use your energy on something IMPORTANT that can ACTUALLY make a difference in the world. Instead of sitting behind your screens bitching about a word centuries old. From where I am sitting… Lady Antebellum has done more for this world than any off you ignorent haters.
From where you’re sitting? The toilet! Hope your bowel movements are more well-formed than your ideas. They do both come out if the same orifice if yours, anyway!
@Rohan yep! Enough said!
Thinking also it may Or should be changed. Southerners should know. Shouldn’t they?
Fully aware of the emotions invoked, we must remember that antebellum refers to a time period in America, pre-civil war, and does not have direct implications of Slavery. Any time before 1865 is antebellum. The civil war was the dividing line.
Would it have been less racist if they called themselves “Lady Americana pre-1865”?
While slavery is bad, Antebellum evokes more than that. American classical, industry, beginnings, independence movement, etc.
It’s not a confederate flag. It is not an action. It is a period of about at least 100 years prior. Akin to how we call the Rennaisance what it is.
Some good. Some bad.
I couldn’t be bothered to read all the comments so this may have been said but I saw them in an interview saying the name was after the antebellum architecture which are types of houses.
Nothing to do with the pre-civil war.
You might want to look up the actual definition of “antebellum”. It just means pre-war, any war. It tends to be tied to pre civil war but it’s not, strictly speaking, racist.
And most of America was built by one kind of slave or another. Perhaps you’ve heard of indentured servitude?
Antebellum doesn’t necessarily mean the times before the American Civil War. It just generally means “existing before a war”, and also, it has a good meaning to it, because “it summons up images of ease, elegance and entertainment on a grand scale that disappeared in the postwar times” (Webster)
I don’t see why you have got your knickers in a twist all it means really is Prewar and that in itself is not racist. It doesn’t matter who built it it’s only a style of architecture.
In a journalism class, some 50 years ago, the teacher instructed us that when naming something, it should be researched. The reason so no one would be offended. What a smart teacher.
Its more of a latin Hybrid that describes a period…
post war of 1812 & pre civil war.
I really dont give a hoot (no pun intend.) about its obvious racism connotations because the origin is latin and formed to generally describe the architectual period period of the last century in Pre-war south`s society & symbolism.
Maybe its time for Lyecuem era 2 ?
I’m not sure why but this blog is loading very slow for me. Is anyone else having this issue or is it a problem on my end? I’ll
check back later on and see if the problem still exists.
Think you all just need to get over it. Its just a group name. There are more important things to concentrate on today
Antebellum means: before a particular war ….Not : before the civil war. Ignorant people live in all parts of this country.
Really? Read the Oct 2012 post by “Really”. You’ll get taken to school for YOUR ignorance.
You’re a plonker.
You’re just stupid. If you did the research you would know they picked the name because of antebellum architecture so go suck a cock
Amen.
Antebellum is racist as fuck. There’s no denying it.
You are seriously stupid
Not a fan of this word or this band because of the name.
You are stupid!
Ok this just made me angry.
When they chose their band name, they were looking at houses, Antebellum houses more specifically, and there being one lady in the band, they came up with Lady antebellum.
They are in no way racist or trying to make anybody uncomfortable, they’re not that kind of people.
Do some research about how they got to their name before you start bagging then out.
Thank you this is what im tallking about
“Ante bellum” is Latin and translates to “before war.” It refers to an era before the civil war, an era of deepening sectionalism between the North and South. Yes, there was still slavery in the South, but it is not defined by those terms. It was a time of social, religious, and educational reform. Public schools were set up and made mandatory in each state. Mental health care was improved. The second great awakening of religion occurred. New architecture emerged. A women’s rights movement picked up steam. Yes, there was slavery, but the biggest reform of all? The formation of abolition movements, which inevitably led to the civil war, which in time abolished slavery. So yes. there was slavery during the antebellum period, but with out it there would still be slavery today. It was a time of growth in our country, not a time defined by oppression. Open a history book… the connotation it has been given doesn’t do it justice.
I’m pretty sure everything that can be said on this subject has been said…ad nauseum
Some of these comments go way off track. The question is around what the name LADY ANTEBELLUM means. And why they chose and stand by that name.
Some of the dumbest threads ask “Why criticize Lady Antebellum, when you accept nasty hip hop music without complaint?”
Answer: music fans have already been loudly raising the issue of sexist, racist, homophobic, violent, and mercenary junk in popular corporate rap/hip-hop forever! People who don’t know this are horribly ignorant.
You antebellum southern slave plantation lovers don’t get this basic fact: the rich land/slave owners WERE THE GANGSTAS OF THEIR TIME!!
Sweet post!
I think your stupid, they have a video online of where they got their name from. And if u think the song “fuck you” by celo green was better than their ur just a dumb ass. Your a racists piece of shit that automatically asumes their name must be involved in a pre civil war era you are seriously stupid and your a hater. There are so many damn people who think black people are still not being treated correctly, and that america is s piece of shit for having slavery well id say we arent racist anymore i mean we have a black president and other countrys had slavery too back then
Lady antebellum is a great band and none of their songs are race involved so im pretty sure they arent racist
You are crazy. The word means “before war” NOT the American South before the war. Saying this is racist is equal to saying that a house with an Antebellum style is a racist institution. It is truly people like you who are creating the leftist wussification of America and making the world so politically correct that nothing is actually correct anymore.
DEAR GOD, America is a free country. Get over it. The word antebellum simply means occurrences before a war/battle. These band members had and have a right to choose the name they desire -period….. and I am making this statement NOT as a bigot. I have good, good friends of all ethnic backgrounds; I love them all. In America, we are all free individuals and are free to make choices within the boundaries of the law. This band name is no more wrong or inappropriate than wearing or displaying Malcolm X’s picture or the Confederate flag; they are a part of our interesting and rich history and should not be deleted from it any more than the word antebellum should be thrown out of our dictionary.
What if I told you they were trying to rebrand the word antebellum to mean nothing more than “the culture of the south?”
I mean, look at the swastika. It belonged to the Jain religion long before it belonged to Hitler. Is it thoughtless of the Jains to continue to use it as a symbol of their faith?
The eagle on the Austrian coat of arms holds a hammer and a sickle. The soviets killed millions of people in the name of communism, and used a hammer and sickle as their symbol: is Austria being thoughtless?
And what about China? Is every person or organization who wears a star now being thoughtless toward the millions of ethnic minorities who were persecuted in China during the Great Leap Forward?
“Antebellum” does not mean, “back when there were slaves.” It means, “before (the) war.” Yes that time period coincides with the period when southerners supported slavery; but if the south wants to continue using the word “antebellum” as a cultural word, the way a Jain continues using the swastika as a cultural symbol, who are you to think them racist for it?
‘Antebellum’ is a word that means ‘before the war,’ used to refer to something that existed before a war. The term is most often used in conjunction with the American south and the Civil War, but that isn’t it’s technical meaning. While I understand the annoyance that it’s a word with racist connotations, it also has meaning completely separate from the Civil War and slavery. The band could have chosen the name for it’s sound, for the literal meaning of the word, or for the image of the elegant, pre-war South that it brings up. But regardless of why they chose it, the fact is it’s a word that could have no meaning or a lot of meaning.
“Antebellum” means, quite literally in Latin, “before the war.” And so it can be used to describe a place or culture before any war. “Antebellum San Francisco” before the war on AIDS. “Antebellum Poland” before the war against the Nazis. The “Antebellum South” before the civil war.
Your instance to devolve word “antebellum” into just one meaning and then read into it an entire political agenda, is as narrow-minded and as frightening as the world you decry.
Words have great power, this is true. But it is we, with the minds to discern, who determine the breadth of their power. As Anaïs Nin so wisely put it, “We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
Perhaps it’s time you took a trip outside your own box of self and explored what war has destroyed and created in places other than the antebellum south. As a survivor of antebellum San Francisco, I can assure you that slavery and prejudice and hate are universal human experiences, ones not easily “fixed” by denouncing the name of a pop culture band.
It’s time you and all you supercilious yet dumb as bricks cohorts stepped outside your superficial boxes and took a hard look at U.S. English words and how they’re really used. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Goody: you looked up the literal meanings of the components “ante” and “bellum.” That’s swell, you D students out there. You willful dummies must therefore also believe that the passengers on the RMS Titanic were, amazingly, a bunch of primordial, immortal deities out for a cruise. Words don’t work like that, never did. Except in the novel “1984” where the the totalitarian government forced everyone to speak, not English, but Newspeak — a dumbed-down language with few words allowed and no nuance or metaphor possible. But you’re probably Hooked on Phonics and would love Newspeak! It’s doubleplusgood.
Ha! 😀
Dear everyone,
I just want all of you retards to know that Lady Antebellum got their name because they were taking pictures in front of a bunch of antebellum houses and they really liked the pictures and they thought the name was cool so they used it! It has NOTHING to do with being racist or anything! You are all jerks for thinking these innocent people are racist. I’ve been to 2 of their concerts and I’m going to meet them in November! They are awesome! This world has gone to trash and thinking everything’s racist! If someone even says a word like ” Hey ” or ” Hi ” it’s either racist or gay! I can’t stand idiots like you people that are hypocrites and think everything is ” Gay ” or ” Racist ” and you can say whatever you want to me but I’m just standing up for my favorite singers and my beliefs! Haters gonna hate but I’m mad and I’m gonna hate if it’s what I gotta do to get everyone to know what I believe in!
Thanks,
A lady A teamer.
I agree with the blogger. I love their music, but the name really bothers me. Thanks for writing this.
Get over yourself.
Guess Lincoln(white) got it wrong?Do we have the WET network? Anyone give to the United White College fund lately?White history month?Where is the NAAWP? Hard to beat racism,when they are on both sides of the issue-so drop your issues and judge people for who they are
You far left wing nut jobs need to get a life.
You people always crying racist racist are so fucking useless, im so sick of hearing your shit. Your opinion is racist against me maybe, maybe antebellum holds a dear meaning to ALOT of us, referring to a time pre-war, when things were as they should be
“Racist against me” — I would love to meet you. Wow.
Antebellum means “before the war” in Latin how is that racist? Every rapper in the country is yelling nigga this and nigga that and “before the war” is racist?
Listen here, genius. Antebellum has Latin origins, and means before the war. Here in the US we attach it to the Civil War. Your ignorance does not surprise me, as we live in a society of idiots. Maybe you should think about not fitting in with the crowd. It is unfortunate that stupidity is not mortally painful.
We should have just left all the blacks in Africa. That way they’d ruin their own country instead of gods country. You ignorant for talking that way about American heritage. I mean shit, they have the whole month of February. For everyone that says slavery is horrible remember the sold their people to us. If ya hey never came to the USA they’d be starving and would be getting attacked by lions. Blacks need to stop using slaverly as a crutch. They got a president and they still are unmovated
Antebellum means a period before war. Any war
What a bunch of politically correct moronic liberal bleeding heart candy asses. Grow some balls and stop living in your parents houses you worthless and weak minded sheep.
Dear Moron Who Wrote This,
You are a complete douche, please don’t vote or procreate. And no, I don’t care how old your left wing drivel is, it has been forever immortalized on the internet, so expect to be made fun of for having such stupid outlooks on things.
Sincerely,
Normal People
Before you start flapping your gums…DO YOUR HOMEWORK AND RESEARCH THE TOPIC!!!!! Antebellum is from the Latin. It means “from an earlier time” and is NOT, in any way, a racist comment!!!
Your comment is the best example I have ever seen of someone who should heed one’s own advice. Further, one is well advised not to type in ALL CAPS when one is making a complete and utter fool of oneself. It only draws attention to your unbalanced state.
Have you not seen the numerous comments throughout this page, in which people (correctly) point out the Latin etymology of antebellum, which means “before the war”? Seriously, “do your homework and research the topic!!!!!” (The five exclamations also come directly from your quote.) Of course, here in the U.S., the word carries *meaning* of the time before the U.S. Civil War. (ref. comment by “Really” on Oct 3, 2012)
Do your own homework. Heck, just try a little light reading for comprehension and you would get it.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=lady%20antebellum
Ha!
Everyone of you, everyone of us is a racist to some degree.
It’s Latin
Ante (before) Bellum (war)
Reblogged this on The Historian's Apprentice and commented:
An older and angrier entry, but an interesting point
Antebellum.
The word means ‘pre-war’. It can certainly relate to a time pre-the American Civil War however is not specific to that time. You could easily have looked at the word from the other side of the mirror. It could be a salute to those lives who were lost. A recognition of those times so that we might not forget. Not unlike Veterans Day. Lest we forget. I am just saying that your interpretation of the fact is not The fact in of its self taken at face value. You seem to be looking at it from a Suthern perspective.
You are an idiot
Well, at least, there seems to be some semblance of sanity, near the end of this band wagon. Did anyone ask the band members why they chose that name ”Antebellum”, before we jump on the band wagon, to kick up a noise of accusation & condemnation.
The word ‘antebellum’ does mean pre-war, often…often, at least in this country, referring to pre-civil war; so, let me ask you, “Who among us hasn’t wished they could go back and relive their life, correcting all those mistakes, offenses, and acts of sheer stupidity, in order to undo the shame or harm we have done to ourselves and others?
Instead we perpetuate our sins like a banner of righteousness, often committing the very acts we condemn in others. I’m tired of hearing the cry of racism at every act of human frailty; doesn’t anyone understand the moment one cries, “racists”, they automatically, extol their case, above another, ignoring the reason of another, however ‘justified or unjust….good or bad…right or wrong’ that person’s perspective may be?
Possibly the greatest human being to walk the face of the earth, when unjustly ‘accused’ (and misunderstood, from the perspective of intention), cried out to the heavens, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” On that premise, I believe, if people knew better we would do better….wouldn’t you? Would you have chosen to go left, instead of right, had you known the cost to family, friends, even yourself, and thus, humanity, in general?
There seems to be a double standard, perpetually,growing, in this country. I am a person of color, yet I see ‘white’ people discluded from certain events, and at the same time, we cry ‘racist’ at the first signs, exclusivity, that we relish amongst ourselves. When will we replace the language of exclusivity, to that of truth? Are we all not children of this planet of LIFE? For example, instead of the NAACP, why do we not advance all people of need, together, as one race, the human race. Why is the fight not against IGNORANCE in all of us, rather than continually dividing us farther and farther apart, based on skin color, culture, spirituality or race? I choose to use the word spirituality, because I find the problem with religion, is with the religious, the self-righteous accusers, whom do not see past the color of their own eyes…or skin.
Instead of speaking & accusing, ought we not better off ‘asking’ questions, upon the quest of what is LIFE, that we have in common with all, what is LOVE, that we have in common with all, and TRUTH, the common denominator of Time. Maybe, we ought to think of ‘Antebellum’, our own ‘Antebellum’, to correct our mistaken thinking, to assume that people or things can change, at our beck and call, while we cry offense to those whom point out our own misgivings toward them. Rather than longing for power, perhaps we ought to wish (pray) for a better life for all, making intercession for those we are offended by…because you see, the reality is, prayer, does more for the praying, to align ourselves with WHOM we pray to, and in the case of Christ, it becomes the Truth of Love, that does the work, both in us, and in the other. The Chinese call it ‘overcoming negative with positive’; Islam, calling Allah to set the balance; the Buddhists, the 8 Noble ways; the Hindus, rising thru the ranks of levels of spiritual domain.
To me, it is all the same, I choose Christ Jesus, because I believe, “He Who is Wisest is He Whom Loves the most, and there is no greater act of love, in all the world, then Christ Crucified, living & dying for all, regardless of race, regardless of right or wrong…because on the outside, we judge and are judged, but on the inside, lies the truth of intention…and a tree, really is known by its fruit.
You Americans need to get over yourselves! Antebellum means before a war. (It’s Latin. ) It’s the time before any war in history, not just the American Civil war. What a bunch of poorly educated, ethnocentric (look it up!)morons you are!
There was war in the world before you existed, and there will be war long after you are gone.
The word means before a period of war. It just so happens that historians wanted to impress every one with their verbal acumen. So they used a word describing any per war era civilization through out history. So your blog expresses what you accuse in the name. Most of US would have to look up the word.
Hey Barney ~ GET OVER IT ! Sick to death of the “black thang”. Ever hear of the Roman Empire ? Thousands of slaves and nobody running around whining about their ancestors suffering. Until they get gassed and cooked in ovens as in the tradgedy of the Jews and Gypsies and Gays, and until their lives culture and heritage have been stolen under 5000 broken treaties, you will never get the pity you crave. Think I’ll go buy a Lady Antebellum CD……
Wow…hella lot ‘o dialogue–indicative of a NERVE has been struck! Randomly this morning, I pondered: why would a group call themselves “Lady Antebellum”, isn’t that derived from slavery times? I decided to do an Internet search to ensure that I was clear on the exact meaning of the term Antebellum. Clearly, in AMERICAN culture the term references the historic period after the War of 1812, so from 1815 to the period immediately before the Civil War–April 11, 1861. That era in the Deep South is distinguished by classicism (more so than “simply” racism). That’s the reason for the nostalgic and wistful delusion/s of some (associated with sipping cool mint juleps under magnolia trees with darkies singing in the background as they plowed fields, picked cotton, scrubbed laundry, plucked chickens, tended children among a myriad of other tasks, duties and chores–in compensation for their food, shelter and lodging). One cannot in good conscience deny the fact of slavery as a heinous exploitation and immoral human rights violation of black people–originally purchased/kidnapped and forced to come to American as servants/slaves—through the course of that “institution “(sic), abusive miscegenation by the slave holders resulting in offspring that were bi-racial, multi-racial, mulatto, octoroon, etc.,. It would seem Politically Correct to disavow any romanticized notions of the Antebellum South (such notions would not be shared by the non-white populace or by any enlightened individual having had their moral consciousness evolved as well as an acute awareness of the associated atrocities of slavery as practiced specifically within the confines/constraints of that institution). What history has continually unveiled in American Society is the aftereffects of those atrocities which are still erupting propagating division, distrust, separatism, alienation, and factions embroiled in hate. The name, Lady Antebellum, is tantamount to the waving of a huge Confederate Flag, post-slavery. Much the same sentiment– in the urban communities where the bloodlines include descendants of slaves–as the post 9/11 era impacts the American patriots. Because 9/11 is a more current event, the aftermath can readily be seen. Well, it’s obvious from the current cries of “black lives matter”, that there is still a lot of healing that must happen in American for it to realize its own ambitious tenant of “…ALL men are created equal” (as per the Declaration of Independence). The term Lady Antebellum is saturated in the selective-nostalgia that the days of the grand south–slaves and all–were better days than now. And to that we say: choices are a direct reflection of what motivates them….but the message and the choice is crystal clear. The name would be changed, if there was any conscientiousness of slavery as a heinous moral atrocity. Barring that realization, the *hits* will just keep on coming. One should not find this surprising, albeit one may find it appalling. .
Your a fucking idiot!
Well, your comment sure showed your intellectual capacity. Now go back to beating your wife, Bubba!
Can’t agree with you more. Like the song but how can the band given their backgrounds name themselves after a time in history of such atrocities? Ignorant on their part of the heavy implications.
I hope you understand, they got there name from visiting a small town outside of Nashville. The town had many antebellum homes and the group thought they were beautiful. They thought antebellum was a super cool word and started putting other words in front of it. Lady stuck. There is no racism in the name of you take it the right way, but if your one of those people who make everything sound racist towards you or anyone else, of course this is going to sound racist to you. Along with everything else in the world. All in all, you shouldn’t judge someone by their actions or anything else, until you learn their story.
This country is becoming so unbelievably stupid my job dropped every time I turn on the news this new movement of war on the south now or anybody that has a confederate thought I don’t believe the south started slavery they certainly got the benefit of being poor but good God the Civil War was not over slavery it was definitely a trigger and a weapon you why are great Lincoln who I’m sure all of his concerns were ethnically base not the fact that slavery was more of a problem because now we have the industrial revolution free commerce employment of people but not the black people of course not in the great White North I believe the Confederates floo we had the industrial revolution free comber’s employment of people but not the black people of course not in there and great White North I believe the Confederates War happen to be over state versus federal government if you really think about it and yeah the south jumped on it but they did more to help the people the relief slaves in the north or did they wouldn’t give them jobs or a place to live well the invention of Gatos Lincoln Oh no that’s not racist where the people of Africa in Freetown would kill them or cut a limb off the mark them they were tainted as they were the ones who stole them I think it’s a pity that slavery happened to begin with I could go back in time I’d slap all those stupid white people but they didn’t start it they took advantage and they were ignorant it’s OK to be ignorant the term is bliss remember it means you were not given the information. But as I look at the current status of Africa now you got a love what they’ve done with the place but that’s not Goodnuf for all these idiots to look at that they just want to destroy what decency we have a Lier far as I’m concerned are you fucking liberals can run the place can’t wait to watch it Rockdale fuck everybod but as I look at the current status of Africa now you got a love what they’ve done with the place but that’s not Goodnuf for all these idiots to look at that they just want to destroy what decency we have a Lier far as I’m concerned are you fucking liberals can run the place can’t wait to watch i all you peace and love people think you’re going to have that when you open the doors to all the fucking he’ll enjoy hill because you earned it
Hey, thanks for posting, I whole heatedly agree. I just watched the Dixie chicks doc last night and never realized amount of backlash they recieved after anti bush comments… Their”people” went crazy and they recieved death threats, showing the absolute insanity alive And well in many communities. Sickening to see the amount of racist apologists excusing such blatant ignorance regarding the experience people of color have had in this country. The ignorance and hate is appalling and get ready for four more years with Trump nurturing the evil seed
We live in a word where so many people just can’t wait to find something to be offended by. Find something that we should be offended by, like the way we are losing free speech due to Islamic demands
I am left wing politically, and actively fight for equal rights, up here in Canada. Sure, I am mostly caucasian, and not proud of what Europeans did to our First Nations people while colonizing this continent.
To me, Antebellum, even referring to the American Civil war, envokes neutral feelings. Yes, the South was built on slavery, which was an evil practice, like the pyramids of Egypt, which draws millions of visitors. The Black slaves in the South gave their lives building the atmosphere that draws many tourists to its unique culture, just like the castles of the UK and Europe. Do we really want to forget their sacrificed lives? It is still the descendents of those slaves that make the South attractive to me, and their Culture makes my visits more enjoyable. I also visit the redneck areas of Texas and Florida, but the politics are certainly not the attraction, and I keep my mouth shut, so I don’t get my ass kicked.
I am sorry for what the slaves endured, but I like to think about their hightened sense of family, and their ability to survive; I know that they were much stronger than I, and their very survival leaves me in awe.
I admire Lady Antebellum for their music, and am not aware of their political leanings, but I hope every Southener understands how they got to where they are, and honours the memory of the true builders of their entire Culture. I am 60, and was raised to be a redneck by my military father, but my eyes opened early in my 20’s, and am thankful that I only had to witness the mostly triumphful decades-long struggle of so many heroes to my Generation. Please don’t give up, ever!
Jeez, sorry to be so long-winded.
“Antebellum” simply means “before war.” It can reference the American Civil War if it’s used in that context, but a band using the term doesn’t mean they’re using it in that context at all. Chill out.
There is nothing wrong with the name I mean come on . It’s beautiful and so is the music . For me lady before the war is beautiful . Women back then were difernt and happy before the war .and regardless antebellum is a nice way of saying before the war . And there music makes as happy as the lads and pepole before the war if it were to of never have happened . Try looking at things in more then one way maybe and its no were racist . Wow .
I guess you were a slave?
Antebellum means before the war. It is not even specific to the civil war which it is commonly associated with.
Antebellum means before war nothing racist
Just so you know, “antebellum” does not exclusively refer to the American Civil War. It translates as “before the war”. In America it is taken for granted that one is referring to the period before the American Civil War, but the word Antebellum does not belong to America.
Ante bellum refers to any prewar time it is just more associated with pre civil war than any other.
before war….perhaps they reference the NEXT war. Sadly, their music precedes, is before, the NEXT war……..
judging by your statements here I bet your “blogging privileges” should have been revoked long before this. The fact that I’m the first to comment on this probably is a great indicator of that. And blogging how do I get in to that? Wait just get a domain name and rant . With out facts or anything. Even editors.
Smfh I didn’t know the meaning of the word so I looked it up. Meaning of the word is as stupid as your rant. Tirade I mean. Maybe lady tirade should be their next album name?
Bet your one of those “comic SJW” types that think the new 🕷 girl cover is objectifying. I’m sure if girls could pick being her or themself which one would it be? The boring girl that can’t do anything anyone else can’t do? Or be one of a kind and hot?
Would you want to be a half ass blogger or Stan Lee? Your bank account or Bruce’s? Bolger eater or super man? Lady before the War or lady antebellum? Smfh just because the word became common for language at the time to refer to the “time before the civil war” doesn’t make it racist. It still means “before a war” any war. Dip shit.
If I refer to “Hitler’s antebellum” I’m not talking about ww2. I’m talking about before that happened. Lady before war? Before what war? What lady? When? The war that comes to your mind first? Maybe it means the woman before she was broken by something that felt like war? Maybe she was the leader of the kkk and wanted to become a hit music group and thought the name would help album sales?
Smfh bloggers and comic book bloggers especially only after (gamer bloggers are next but only after shitlords-which your probably trying to be one) are all worth nothing because you take fantasy and think it’s real and worth debate.
Want me to prove if? The best comic book super hero of all time is richly rich. And go…
Very well put,thought out with no trace of hate,good point.
its great you have your opinion and all but to go and put it out publically offend so many people antebellum was chosen because in hebrew it means beautiful soul and in portugese means lovely music (or music to my ears) so you ccan have your own opinion just try to be a little nicer next time btw do you even know what rasist means
In antiques it serves as a date! Also seems like you would like to erase it from history. Those who don’t learn history are doomed to repeat it.
Over thinking is a waste of time and emotions.
Dude. I just mean before war. She isnt American so why assume its before the American Civil War? It is commonly used in American for before the Civil War but not used exclusively for it. Why do we always jump to the worst possible answer when deciding about peoples motives.
I’m gay and you sound like a huge fag.
Truth!
So tired of the “RACE CARD”. Find a different card to play.
Look up the definition before you embarrass yourself further.
Antebellum is not directly related to the civil war it’s a time before any war Americans just use it when referencing to the civil war more than other wars so yeah if you are uneducated and think it’s only talking about that time period I can see how you would be offended.. also I know I called all who relate the term solely to the civil war uneducated and yet still used no punctuation…irony appreciated
Was reminded of this stupid band name tonight, and found this article while double-checking the definition of the word antebellum before going off on a minor tangent in explaining it to my husband.
Also, that stupid song “Need You Now” is chock full of really pathetic middle-school poetry, and I cannot stomach even 30 seconds of it. I am horrified such drivel even got radio play.
Don’t know how I stumbled on this weird page. Anyway, since none of the comments mentioned it…antebellum is Latin and means “before the war.” In many contexts it means specifically the slave holding American states prior to April 1861. However, the phrase is also used in other contexts as well and in other country’s refers to a time before a war of significant national importance to that particular country.
Ante bellum is latin and means ” before the war”. Idiots. So anti slavery you became racist monsters in your own right.
Get a life
aaawwww, poor helpless snowflake
Found this while researching my novel. Of note, there’s a restaurant named Antebellum in Flowery Branch, GA. Which strikes me as racist AF and totally insane. Crikey.
No. First off, it’s Latin, and means before THE war. It is associated with the Civil war, because of a diary that was found, after clean up. And is a real record of anyone documenting hapoenings at the start, during time if that ear. The first entry in this woman’s diary rhar captures [besides what the only nees received about the war] emotuonal human evidence of the Civil War. The word itself goes back when Latin was spomen as a language, so a war war way before the US’.
Antebellum is not a bad thing quit bein a dramatic bitch making everything about race, don’t 4get blacks r the ones who sold their own people 2 make them slaves
You are truly are an idiot… You would best serve your readers by first exploring the definition of the word ‘antebellum’ and then you can go blathering on, exposing your own prejudices, secure in the knowledge that you actually know what you’re talking about. Since you call yourself a ‘writer’ you should have a better command of the language. Stick to your comics.
Before flying off the handle about this word being racist you might want to research the word. It is a Latin word meaning before war.
People use the American Civil War as an example. However you can also use it for antebellum Europe, rantebellum Vietnam, or antebellum Iraq.
Of course Latin is a very ancient language and used in our daily language. So before you start playing the racist card, research.
I don’t know how I got on your list. But I love Lady Antebellum. Even their words don’t speak a thing about racism. What about the good wars, like the war on drugs, the war on abuse to women, the war on exploiting children. Find another place for the race card, it don’t fit here.
Antebellum literally means “before the war”. In US generally means prior to the civil war and describes many things prior to the civil war including architecture. The civil war affected the whole country not just the south and not just slaves. Saying the word antebellum is associated with slavery and a “Bad” term would be incorrect. Not sure why the band chose that name but might be interesting to find out.
Most ridiculous article ever. Someone is always finding something offensive. I’m black and it doesn’t bother me! None of us even lived back then to experience it. And trust me, white people weren’t the only ones to have slaves.
Actually, antebellum just means “before the war”. It does not specifically refer to the Civil War. That assumption is indicative of bias. I don’t particularly care for that over played song either. It’s just that grouping that band in with the segregationist regime of South Africa and Nazis, as if they are all equal, is an example of the outgroup homogeneity effect. If we are not carefull, that can lead to prejudice and discrimination. Which would be ironic, especially considering your concerns.
I knew there was more than 1 reason I didnt like them! Thankyou for the clarification.
There are real problems in the world that you could be commenting on other than a band name. Like the slavery that is still to this day going on. Whites were not the only slave holders.
Yeh… it’s like naming yourself “Lady Slavery Era”. Pathetic.
The author should change his last name from Hanley to Handjob.
It should…
I hope that I’ve used the term in it’s correct context in recommending this book
STAND UP TO RACISM
Reading ‘The Underground Railroad’ by Colson Whitehead.
A stunning, timely, eviscerating novel about the experience of slaves in antebellum America. Published this year.
It is some of the best writing I’ve come across, leaving unforgettable images of human cruelty and moments of sheer intensity and care, summoned out of the awful fire of racism in the Southern states.
The heroic Cora will ever be in my memory.
So much to gain, discuss, learn from this multi-layered, sometimes shocking and painful novel. Then you realise that the whole piece is shocking with the realisation that what is described happened and its legacy is ever present in the shape of Trump, Charlottesville and the deaths of so many mainly young Black people in modern America.
I’m thinking this as the anniversary approaches of the brutal execution of 14 year old Emmett Till on 28 August 1955 near the town of Money, Mississippi, which because of the extraordinary courage of his mother Mamie Till-Mobley in showing the world what had happened to her son by keeping his casket open, effectively restarted the Civil Rights Movement.
Rosa Parks said it was the young Emmett Till that was in her mind as she refused to go to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama three months after his body was recovered from the Tallahatchie River. It had been weighed down with the fan of a cotton gin attached to his neck with barbed wire. His murderers were acquitted and later admitted their guilt to a national magazine under the abuse of the rule of double jeopardy.
Sadly it didn’t end there, as the long list into the present of those who have effectively been lynched since tragically testifies.
Here in UK too there is no reason to be complacent looking back over the decades and the shocking number of deaths of predominantly young men in police custody or in contact with them for example.
It would be great to have this book on the school curriculum. It is right up to the minute, as its content rises out of the past from the expert pen of Colson Whitehead and reminds us of the necessity of the continuing struggle against racism.
This line hit home, ‘The Declaration of Independence was their masterpiece . . . A history of repeated injuries and usurpations’
Antebellum is not a racist term. It takes its meaning from two Latin words; ante for before, and bellum for war. It does not refer exclusively to the South before The Civil War. You can refer to the antebellum period in Britain in regards to the First World War.
Its Latin, translating to literally, “before the war”. It gained popularity after the American Civil War, but is definitely not all inclusive. Get off your liberal “everything is racist” high horse. You sound like Oprah, “you’re a racist, she’s a racist, he’s a racist, that’s racist, this is racist, everyone and everything is RACIST!”.
Lady Antebellum are not racist (that’s obvious) nor is their name stupid. Their name is a reference to the feel of a time period in which there was a lot of culture in the South. Yes, slavery existed. Yes, the entire country approved of the death marches native tribes were forced to undergo when they were removed from the East. Are you ready to condemn all the architecture and development of culture in the country because native peoples were cleared out of the way to build it? Until you are, don’t be self-righteous.
I agree. I used to love that song. I cannot say that she is a sympathizer, however, I cannot take the risk of supporting one.
So, ‘Lady Before the War’ is racist. I think you may just be upset because CeeLo Green did not win. Personally, I wouldn’t care for either album. If you assign racism so easily, you will not be taken seriously when you’ll actually do find it.
Your commentary rant is infantile. You automatically link slavery to their name. Grow up! And wanted the music award to go to a song called ‘Fuck You!’
The issue here, Dan, is that the term “antebellum” is linked to the Civil War, and the Civil War was about slavery (it’s not a huge degree of separation). So it’s not a crazy leap. You have to try to expand your thinking beyond what you’re comfortable with, and consider other viewpoints.
I have to take issue with your understanding of the word antebellum. You disparage another’s comments by saying that they need to expand their thinking beyond what they’re comfortable with, … may I suggest that you fully understand a term before you accuse someone else of being short sighted or ignorant?
The word has a direct Latin translation which I’m certain is easily found with the use of a simple online search. I am a history teacher and use the term in its original form. The terms literal meaning: ante = before or prior to + Bellum = War. “before the war” which in American history, the war being referred to is the American Civil War. I’m not sure why you believe your “leap” into racism is appropriate, but I would just as easily consider you a troll for trying to inflame a situation.
Try not to read too deeply into something so simple and don’t create drama where there is none and none is required.
Has it occurred to any of the hate talkers that maybe you don’t know their true intentions. First of Ante = Before Bellum = War in Latin and there’s a multiple of things you all didn’t consider before assuming guild to slavery. The latin Words mean “Before War” that is the definition of it in Latin which was created as a language in 750 BC (BEFORE CHRIST). Now I get that Lady Antebellum are American artists and safe to assume that they meant before the civil war of 1810 but let’s be realistic did you think they meant I like owning black slaves when they drafted that name and made it public? FIRST ASSUMPTIONthe most obvious answer should be because they’re southern Americans country folk that they value their heritage in the South and they’re TRADITIONAL simple southerners implying that they’re lineage as citizens predates even the civil war and that they’re not first generation or 2nd generation citizens. SECOND assumption if I didnt know about USA history and I knew latin that ANTEBELLUM would mean BEFORE WAR. since band’s name is LADY ANTE BELLUM = LADY BEFORE WAR AKA choose ur lady over struggles AKA lover not a fighter AKA put your woman first etc etc. no need for hate. I can assure you just from their music alone they are not racist and never implied to anything except that they like being southern country gal and cowboys who sing nice songs with a soft tone. Never would slavery come to mind when hearing them sing
Lots of food for thought in these comments. I really believe that there was not near as much thought given to the name by the group.
Antebellum literally means “before the war”. If you want to make it about the American civil war you can, but it could mean any war. It’s an old English word, so it didn’t get invented in America.
Technically from Latin, but didn’t change when transitioned to English.
Dumb shit like this is why no one takes our generation seriously you know.
THANK YOU! This drives me effing nuts too. It’s outrageous and shows how ignorant the popular majority is. Or just how little they care.
haters
You’re an asshole
I think that you are obviously overthinking this as well as being paranoid
Get a life!! You’re the racist! You look for anything to complain about. It’s referencing a time period. Pre-war is the actual definition. Stop trying to stir up shit you jerk
Bob sounds like a real “state’s rights” type.
Thank you for this post. I teach 4th grade and my instructional team is developing curriculum about US History from the perspective of African Americans and people of color. I had never heard the band name although it’s impossible to avoid the song. I agree with you–the name has blatantly racist underpinnings. Thank you for taking the time to speak up and write about it.
I agree with this article
I understand your anger about this bands name if it pertains to slavery but the literal translation from Latin is simply before the war not specifically the American civil war.
I agree.
Real racism is buried, no longer recognizable in the thick forest of trivia as silly as the name
of a soon to be forgotten band being labelled as such.
The term “antebellum” refers to a time prior to war. Not necessarily the civil war, however southern U.S. often sees this as pre civil war because there lives were so affected by it. To say it is a racially associated term is simply incorrect. This article is expressing the personal (uninformed) views of the author. Typical for people that wish to pursue their own ideological perspective, without regard to actual fact!
African American olives?
Unless they’re extremely naive, they know exactly how they are insulting others. Shame on them.
You have got to be the biggest idiot. Antebellum means “before the war”, that is it, morons like u take simple meaning and screw it up. Lady before the war, that’s what it means nothing else. For instance gentleman antebellum, gentleman before the war, opposed to the man I became after war, speaking from my experiences
The word is Latin and is dated back to 1840!
The word is Latin and is dated back to 1840! Lets actually record history rather than label it to only a portion of history you are offended by.
I agree. They probably know what it means and dont care. Most people dont know what it means so they are oblivious and black people are not their market base anyway.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Truth be told! I am not a fan of this group, but do have an issue with their chosen name; and the period in time it represents.
Give me a break, any prick can make an issue out of anything grow up! Move on.
Modern disco.
Lady Antebellum a super racist name? You really need a life pal if that is the kind of stuff you have have to worry about.
Ugh.
Antebellum means “before the war,” but it wasn’t widely associated with the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865) until after that conflict was over. The word comes from the Latin phrase ante bellum (literally, “before the war”), and its earliest known print appearance in English dates back to the 1840s. Soooo 21 years BEFORE the civil war.
You’re right, it won’t lead to a name change because you’re making mountains out of mole hills and being offended for something so ridiculous.
Find something to worry about.
I agree with everything you wrote and furthermore, I can stand the group are their music..
Perhaps they were being culturally sensitive and thought instead of going Blackface we will just use lady antebellum.
They can’t see the tears my heart cries
Antebellum is not a bad word written a bad meaning. It only means “before war”. Why does that signify something bad?
I dont think antebellum is a good choice of name! Under the circumstances ots ratjer unfeeling@@ from a sout african who hated apartheid!!
The choice of the name of Antebellum, I believe, came from the mind of an uninformed band member. He simply liked how the name sounded. But, after knowing what the term meant, to continue with the name is down right insensitive.
In the late 90’s I knew some very young folks (early 20’s at the time) that used to practice their music on the front porch in a little town. Some old timer walked by and said “you guys sound like a bunch of ‘porch monkeys'”. The new band thought a bit and decided “that’s our new name”, “The Porch Monkeys”. After they mentioned the new name to others, the history of the term was revealed.
The new band quickly changed their name.
I agree. I have always hated that name, but you are right. No one seems to care.
Antebellum means before the war. Has nothing to do with slavery.
Racist…are you a NUT. I mean come on, that’s stupid. You had rather a band with a album label, F-you, win. That is exactly what’s wrong with this country. Our kids are seeing this kind of language and think it’s ok because of people like you agreeing with it. That language shouldn’t even be followed on a record album.
May God have mercy on you..shameful.
You got your wish now
You are absolutely right. And today your request has been heard.
Hey! They just announced they’re dropping antebellum from their name! Way to be 9 years ahead of the game. 👍🏼
A good day for sane people to act sanely.
And here we are – name change!
Took 9 years but it just happened. You were ABSOLUTELY correct!
Well looks like they learned that now and have changed it.
They FINALLY changed it! 😁
Yes, after 14 years, they finally changed their name. Their comment, “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 ” is utter BS. They have have heard these points for 14 years. They are just reacting to the ground swell of sentiment coming from recent events. Kinda like finally tearing down monuments that reflected the views of the past cultures. Those monuments have been a lightning rod for remembering the old world ways. Time to move on to the future.
antebellum – ante meaning before, bellum war. Antebellum – before the war. American idiots associate this word only with the American Civil War. Get educated you stupid ethnocentric American fucks.
You know, there are 476 or so entries on this blog site. And about 400 or so remind us of the Latin meaning Antebellum. Those folks that continue to remind us COMPLETELY miss the point of the blog.
Here’s another example:
Somewhere in the remote mountains a company has its factory. It is so remote that employees can not drive there every day. The company decides to build a town for its prospective employees. Above the entrance to the town is a sign. The sign says:
“Work Will Set You Free”
The company cannot understand why no one will live in there town and why there are demonstrators outside the gate. After all, it’s only 5 words on a sign 🤔
Antebellum literal translation is “before war” how can that be racist? Snowflake generation is lost. Even tore down a Lincoln statue just because he was an old white republican to stupid to know he signed into law the document that freed the slaves
Antebellum means “before war” meaning DURING SLAVERY (in the American context). This isn’t that hard, “Anonymous.” Have you seen that Lincoln statue you’re talking about? Do some homework.
Cheers to how well this aged!
Cheers to how well this aged!
Cheers to how well this aged!
This is ridiculous. An entire time period in our history should be labeled racist? Is the word flappers racist ? Victorian ? The music of that period?
Flappers is not. Victorian is not. Music: quite possibly (look up the REAL lyrics to Oh, Susanna, or Jump Jim Crow). “Antebellum” is associated with before the Civil War in which WHITE PEOPLE OWNED BLACK PEOPLE. Sounds racist to me. Not to you, huh?
Anything pre-civil war is considered racist now. Doesn’t make any sense. There’s no logic.
You were ahead of your time. Great catch. They just changed their name, finally.
Cancel culture is a damn joke. Were you offended 14 years ago when they became a band? I’ll go with probably not, because the media didn’t tell you to be.
“Ante”” means “Before”.. “Bellum” means “Theater of war”… “Antebellum” means, quite LITERALLY, “Before the War.” From there?… You guys can debate the internet pseudo-sexism undertones embedded in the word “Lady.”
They finally changed their name
It means pre-war and is a time period in history. Colonialism, Revolution, and American Patriot could just as easily be defined racist by your twisted logic. Also slavery has been around in every time period in many countries before America.