Soon, Johnny Cash will grace one of the most prestigious venues in the United States: the U.S. Capitol. In a ceremony filled with significance, a bronze statue of the legendary “Man in Black” will be unveiled on Tuesday, with a lineup of notable attendees.
Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York will stand alongside Arkansas’ congressional delegation, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and members of the Cash family, all gathering to celebrate this tribute to the iconic musician.
This statue is the second of two new figures that Arkansas has contributed to replace longstanding representations of the state at the Capitol, which had stood for over a century. Earlier this year, another statue was revealed depicting Daisy Bates, the civil rights leader who mentored the nine Black students who integrated Little Rock Central High School in 1957.
In 2019, the Arkansas legislature voted to modernize its representation by selecting Bates and Cash, replacing the former statues that depicted lesser-known figures from the 18th and 19th centuries. The decision came after spirited debates among lawmakers, who considered a diverse range of candidates from Walmart founder Sam Walton to a Navy SEAL from the state who was killed in Afghanistan. Each state is permitted to contribute two statues of prominent individuals from their history to the Capitol’s National Statuary Hall Collection.
Johnny Cash, born in the small town of Kingsland, Arkansas, about 60 miles south of Little Rock, left an indelible mark on the world through his music. Passing away in 2003 at the age of 71, Cash’s illustrious career saw the sale of 90 million records globally, spanning genres like country, rock, blues, folk, and gospel. He remains one of the few artists to be inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The statue, skillfully crafted by Little Rock sculptor Kevin Kresse, who has also sculpted other famed Arkansans such as Al Green, Glen Campbell, and Levon Helm, portrays Cash with a guitar draped across his back and a Bible in his hand—an emblematic tribute to the singer’s legacy.
This addition to the Capitol is the latest since North Carolina’s statue of Reverend Billy Graham was introduced in May, ensuring Johnny Cash’s legacy will stand among the greats in such a historical and influential space.
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