Several websites that never covered the story of the Black artists who urged Chicago DJ and producer Black Madonna to change her name are reporting that she has done so.

In a twitter post, Marea Stamper (who formerly DJ’d under the name Lady Foursquare) announced that she has changed her name to “The Blessed Madonna.”

“In retrospect I should have listened harder to other perspectives,” she added. “My artist name has been a point of controversy, confusion, pain and frustration that distracts from things that are a thousand times more important than any single word in that name.”

As we wrote in an earlier story, Stamper had been contacted in early June by producer and DJ Monty Luke, urging her to change her name and outlining the reasons why:

“This name, ‘The Black Madonna,’ holds significance for catholics around the world, but especially so for black catholics in the US, Caribbean and Latin America. In addition, Detroit’s Shrine of the Black Madonna has been an important cultural figure to many interested in the idea of Black feminism and self-determination for the past 50 years. Religious connotations aside though, it should be abundantly clear that in 2020, a white woman calling herself ‘black’ is highly problematic. I explained these things in my message and concluded the email with some practical suggestions on how the nickname/alias transition could take place.”

 

He did not get any reply to this or a follow-up email, Luke wrote in a petition that had earned more than 1,000 signatures overnight.

“I commend Marea Stamper for finally making the decision to cease the use of the name, ‘The Black Madonna,'” Monty Luke told 5 Mag. “The issue of cultural appropriation is pervasive, nuanced and complex. I hope that the dialogue this has sparked continues so that we may gain a deeper understanding and insight from all corners of the dance music community in an effort to move forward together.”

5 Mag also reached out to Stamper’s PR for comment earlier, but never received a reply.

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