One of the greatest country artists of all time, Johnny Cash, is now immortalized in the form of an enormous and glorious statue in our nation’s capital, having earned a place among some of the most influential politicians and activists in American history. The statue is in the U.S. Capitol building and it’s just simply awesome. Can you tell I’m a big fan of Mr. Cash? His music and life have had a profound impact on my life, inspiring me to be a bold witness for Christ and share my faith without fear of the consequences. A true blue rebel.
According to the Associated Press, members of Cash’s family were joined by congressional leaders from both political parties, along with a crowd of hundreds, who all gathered on Tuesday for the statue’s unveiling. Memories of the musician’s life were shared during the ceremony. Cash grew up on a farm in Arkansas before building a legendary music career that gave a voice to the average hard working American’s struggles.
“Some may ask: Why should a musician have a statue here in the halls of the great American republic?” Speaker Mike Johnson went on to say at the unveiling ceremony. “The answer is pretty simple. It’s because America is about more than laws and politics.”
Each state selects two statues to place within the Capitol. The Cash statue is the second new figure Arkansas has sent to replace two existing images that had represented the state at the U.S. Capitol for more than 100 years. Another statue depicting civil rights leader Daisy Bates was unveiled at the Capitol earlier this year. Bates mentored the nine Black children who desegregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The state’s legislature in 2019 voted to replace Arkansas’ two prior statues, which depicted little-known figures from the 18th and 19th centuries, with Bates and Cash.
Known as the “The Man in Black,” Cash was a vivid storyteller who sang with a deep voice songs like “I Walk The Line,” “Ring of Fire,” “Jackson” and “A Boy Named Sue.” The statue depicts the singer with a guitar slung across his back and a Bible in his hand. Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse created the statue. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said artistic creativity is an important part of the country’s growth, and Cash’s “substance” and “swagger” inspired generations of artists from every genre imaginable. He quoted singers such as Bob Dylan and Snoop Dogg about Cash’s impact.
Jeffries then recounted how rap artist Snoop Doggy Dogg referred to the Man In Black as a “real American gangster,” which is a pretty high compliment from the man we all know as the “Dogg Father.” The audience truly got a kick out of that remark.
Johnny Cash Statue Unveiling in the U.S. Capitol. pic.twitter.com/ErfipvXmdC
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 24, 2024
Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated during the unveiling that she grew up in a musical family where “after God and country, came Johnny Cash.” Sanders noted how Cash dealt with drug addiction, but held a deep religious faith in Jesus Christ that helped him overcome a lot of his struggles.
“When so much in today’s world is fake, Johnny Cash was very real,” Sanders stated during her time to speak.
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Cash’s daughter, Rosanne Cash, said her father would have viewed the statue “as the ultimate” honor in his life. She said her father’s hard upbringing instilled in him a strong work ethic and that he loved the idea of America as a place of dreams and refuge.
“This man was a living redemption story,” Rosanne Cash said of her legendary father. “He encountered darkness and met it with love.”