The Black Madonna changes name: “[it] has been a point of controversy, confusion, pain and frustration”

DJ and electronic musician The Black Madonna (real name Marea Stamper) has changed her moniker to The Blessed Madonna, following online pressure, including a Change.org petition, Pitchfork reports.

"The name was a reflection of my family’s lifelong and profound Catholic devotion to a specific kind of European icon of the Virgin Mary which is due in hue," she wrote in part. "People who shared that devotion loved the name, but in retrospect I should have listened harder to other perspectives."

She continues, "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." You can read her full statement below.

Black Catalogue label founder Monty Luke, who started the Change.org petition, had written in part:

On June 14 of this year, I emailed Marea Stamper, in an effort to open a dialogue about the possibility of her moving away from using her DJ alias, The Black Madonna. 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.

I received no response.

You can read Luke's full statement at Change.org.