2. Lady Antebellum’s Name Change Debacle
The country band recently changed their name from Lady Antebellum to Lady A, because, as this GQ article points out they’d been critiqued for, “[its] associations with romanticized ideas of the pre-war, slavery-ridden American South.” The problem? The name “Lady A” is taken by a Black woman artist who has been going by that name for 20 years and the band is suing her over it. Karen Hunter sums it up best with her Tweet, “Let me understand...they changed their name from Lady Antebellum because they didn't want to associate with the racist past to a name that a BLACK woman in the music biz was already using...now they are suing HER for not wanting to relinquish the name?” This is a textbook example of virtue signaling at its worst: A powerful group of people signaling their virtue on paper, but in action are continuing to disenfranchise the same people they changed their name for in the first place.
3. Basically All Corporate Marketing
From J.P. Morgan to the NFL, it seems like nearly every major corporation has been producing content to support the Black Lives Matter movement. Is this bad? No. In fact, there are probably lots of positive implications from this type of widespread tone shift. Remember: It was only a few years ago that Colin Kaepernick kneeled and was essentially kicked out of the league for peacefully protesting police brutality. On the flip side, when it comes to real-life, everyday practices and the real people who are affected, are these companies living up to their words and promises of equity? According to the Associated Press, no. But, if you only consume the heartfelt commercials and retweet the hashtags, this continues to perpetuate the problem.