The controversial country band the Dixie Chicks has rebranded as The Chicks following criticism that the former name brought positive attention to Civil War-era Southern culture.
The group changed its name to The Chicks on each of its social media platforms and altered the art for its upcoming album, Gaslighter, to reflect the change as well.
The group also released a new song, “March, March,” featuring a music video with images and videos of recent protests against police brutality and racial injustice that have taken place throughout the nation along with other images of protesters from past demonstrations, including the anti-gun-violence March for Our Lives and the climate change protests led by Greta Thunberg.
The video lists the names of dozens of black people who have died, including George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, and Breonna Taylor. The group urged viewers to vote in future elections and signed the end scene with the name The Chicks.
The name change created one hitch for the group. Another band in New Zealand was already called the Chicks. That group, however, has agreed to share the name with the U.S. band.
“A sincere and heartfelt thank you goes out to ‘The Chicks’ of NZ for their gracious gesture in allowing us to share their name. We are honored to co-exist together in the world with these exceptionally talented sisters,” a representative for the U.S. band told Pitchfork. “Chicks Rock!”
The Chick’s name change came two weeks after another country band, Lady Antebellum, changed its name to Lady A. After Lady A’s announcement, many called for The Chicks to drop “Dixie” from its name. An op-ed in Variety noted that the term “dixie” references the Mason-Dixon line.
“‘Dixie,’ for the record, is the epitome of white America, a celebration of a Southern tradition that is indivisible from Black slaves and those grand plantations where they were forced to toil for free,” wrote columnist Jeremy Helligar. “The Dixie Chicks don’t need to change their name to get that kind of publicity, but their silence has been deafening. This is a discussion we need to have, and they should be a part of it.”
The band has been politically outspoken for many years. Lead singer Natalie Maines outraged many country fans when she said she was “ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas” shortly after George W. Bush announced the start of the war in Iraq in 2003.
