Mickey Guyton Takes Aim At Racial Inequality In New Anthem “Black Like Me”

As the music industry embraced the Black Out Tuesday movement on June 2, UMG Nashville artist Mickey Guyton released the intensely personal song “Black Like Me,” which chronicles her experiences growing up as an African-American in a society that does not treat everyone equally.

“Little kid in a small town / I did my best just to fit in / Broke my heart on the playground / When they said I was different,” she sings on the first verse, before adding, “Now I’m all grown up and nothin’ has changed / Yeah, it’s still the same.”

“I wrote this song over a year ago because I was so tired of seeing so much hate and oppression,” Guyton said via a post on Instagram. “And yet here we are in the exact same place! We must change that,” she added. “I hope this song can give you a small glimpse into what my brothers and sisters have endured for 400+ years.”

On Tuesday, June 2, Guyton also took part on a virtual interview panel titled “A Conversation on Being African-American In The Nashville Music Industry,” moderated by Beverly Keel, Dean of MTSU College of Media and Entertainment, along with Sekou Franklin, Ph.D., MTSU Department of Political Science.

During this year’s Country Radio Seminar in February, Guyton issued another strong track, “What Are You Gonna Tell Her?,” which took aim at gender inequality, an issue that has long plagued country radio.