WASHINGTON D.C. – The Natural State and the nation’s capital were in the spotlight on Tuesday as the Johnny Cash statue unveiling ceremony took place in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall.
Cash’s statue joins Daisy Lee Gatson Bates to represent Arkansas inside the Capitol and is also the first musician to ever be honored with a statue in the Capitol.
The Arkansas Martin Luther King Jr. Commission was in attendance with a group of high school students they took from around the state as part of its Dream Keepers Tour. All of the students said they were grateful to witness history.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson spoke about how Cash’s songs have a deeper meaning and gave examples of how some of his songs inspired America.
“When we forgot about the prisoners, there was Johnny Cash of course singing at Folsom Prison,” Johnson said. “He was reminding us that these people matter.”
The “I Walk the Line” singer grew up in Kingsland during The Great Depression but throughout his life, he created a catalog of powerful works.
“Because the Man in Black sang of tragedies of life and difficulties Americans faced he provided Americans hope,” Johnson noted.
For the several high school students the commission took they said the entire experience was overwhelming. Gabbi Wynne, a student at Rivercrest School District, said she’s thankful for the entire experience and having the chance to be there for the unveiling.
“I felt like I had a connection with everyone who was speaking. Just hearing them was really beautiful,” Wynne said.
White Hall student Gaige Caskey said he had a new respect for Cash as he believes “he was just fighting for what’s right and doing the right things.”
“I knew of Johnny Cash but I didn’t know how much I learned today,” Watson Chapel student Makya Terry said.
The students had the opportunity to learn more about Cash through the stories they heard from those who knew him, like his daughter Roseanne Cash.
“He was a Shakespeare of the South,” she said. “This man is a living redemption story. He encountered darkness and met it with love.”
The sculptor Kevin Kresse said each curve represents the idea of Johnny Cash reviewing his life for visitors like these teens to see when they walk into the U.S. Capitol.
“The bible, his faith was so integral in who he was,” Kresse said. “The guitar almost to me represents a backpack that took him all over the world.”
The students say they will always remember this moment and they’re grateful the commission took them on this tour of the nation’s capital.