Introduction:
Kane Brown Opens Up About Struggles of Identity and Unity Amid Protests: “I’m Both — and Both Push Back”
As protests against police brutality swept across the nation in 2020, country music star Kane Brown found himself at the center of a difficult conversation — one that cuts deeply into his own life as a biracial man.
The 26-year-old singer, whose mother is white and father is Black, admitted in a candid interview that navigating today’s climate has been especially challenging. For Brown, the lines drawn in the wake of George Floyd’s death have left him caught in the middle of two worlds that both demand he take a side.
💬 “I’m trying to bring everybody together, and they want me to pick a side,” Brown told HITS Daily Double. “I even get pushed from one side to the other. I’m both, and both push back. So I try to understand and see each without losing the other.”
Brown explained that his personal struggles extend into his role as a father. With a young daughter, he often feels the weight of questions directed at him about how he will prepare her for the world — particularly when it comes to being biracial in America.
💬 “Having a biracial daughter, people ask me: ‘What will you tell her when she’s pulled over? What about the difference between her and her white friends?’” he shared. “2020’s been tough. I’m glad she’s too young to understand all this right now.”
Though he expressed empathy for protesters calling for justice, Brown was equally clear about his respect for officers who serve honorably.
💬 “There are people who think all cops are bad, but I know that’s not true,” he said. “I’ve seen how some let power go to their heads — but not all do. If I get stopped, I keep my hands out the window so they can see I’m not a threat. You don’t know what fear they’re coming from, and they don’t know yours. Both sides are scared.”
That balance — trying to understand the perspectives of both communities — is what Brown says is missing in America’s larger conversation.
💬 “We’ll never find peace until everybody understands,” he said. “Right now, people just want to yell at each other and be right. That doesn’t solve anything. Finding common ground, listening to fears, that’s the only way forward.”
Brown’s message of unity found its way into his music with the release of “Worldwide Beautiful” in June 2020. Written with Shy Carter, Ryan Hurd, and Jordan Schmidt, the track calls for equality and peace, blending his personal reflections with a universal plea for change.
“White churches, Black churches / Different people, same hearses,” Brown sings. “It’s kinda hard to fight with each other / Laying down in the ground, six under.”
The song, which Brown had been saving for over a year, was released early because the moment demanded it. For him, it was more than just a single — it was a prayer for unity, a reminder that despite differences, the same humanity runs through us all.