Musician, Arkansas legend Johnny Cash recognized with U.S. Capitol statue | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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WASHINGTON — On the eve of unveiling of a bronze sculpture honoring musician Johnny Cash at the U.S. Capitol, sculptor Kevin Kresse took a moment to reflect on Cash as a person.

Kresse, the Little Rock artist behind the Cash statue, addressed some of the Arkansans who traveled to the nation’s capital for the occasion during a pre-reception Monday evening. While Kresse noted Cash’s musical accomplishments — such as selling “a gazillion records worldwide” — he emphasized Cash’s character in explaining why the Arkansan is worthy of a statue.

“For me, it’s the fact that he took all of that — he took his successes, his standing, his wealth, everything he accrued — instead of holding onto it tightly, trying to get more, he turned it around and shined a light on those who were stepped over, overlooked, pushed to the margins, the so-called ‘those people’ of our society,” Kresse said Monday evening at The Hamilton venue in downtown Washington, D.C.

PHOTO GALLERY | Johnny Cash statue unveiled at U.S. Capitol

“When (Cash) sang about wearing a black coat and clothing for different groups, what he was saying was, ‘I’m standing up,’” Kresse added, referencing the Cash song, “Man in Black.”

Kresse stood alongside members of the Cash family, Arkansas lawmakers and congressional leaders Tuesday morning when they pulled the cover off the Cash statue on Tuesday in the Capitol Visitor Center, officially putting the sculpture into the National Statuary Hall collection.

Cash joins civil-rights leader Daisy Bates in being recognized in the collection, which includes two statues from every state. The Arkansas General Assembly and then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson in April 2019 agreed to replace existing statues of Uriah Rose and James Paul Clarke with sculptures honoring Cash and Bates.

Public officials recognized Bates with a May ceremony unveiling her statue. The Bates sculpture is located in National Statuary Hall near the House of Representatives chambers.

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Between the installation of the Bates and Cash statues, North Carolina honored the Rev. Billy Graham at the U.S. Capitol with a sculpture depicting his likeness. Cash and Graham were friends, and Cash joined Graham at some of the reverend’s crusades.

“There is something beautifully symmetrical about Johnny Cash and civil-rights icon Daisy Bates sharing representation of the great state of Arkansas,” Cash’s daughter Rosanne Cash said Tuesday. “They were both committed to justice for all and to advocacy for the marginalized and those who lived with the boot of oppression on their necks.”

Johnny Cash was born in February 1932 in Kingsland, but he spent most of his childhood in the Mississippi Delta community of Dyess farming on his family’s land. Cash would become a legend in the country music industry with hits like “Ring of Fire,” “I Walk the Line” and “A Boy Named Sue.”

Cash’s musical talents would receive recognition with multiple awards and inductions into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

He is the first musician to be honored in the National Statuary Hall collection.

“Some may ask the question, ‘Why would a musician have a statue here in the great American republic?’” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said during Tuesday’s ceremony. “The answer is actually pretty simple: America is about more than laws and politics. Our nation is one that’s comprised of the stories of the American people.”

Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., promised before the 650 people sitting in the Capitol Visitor Center he would not sing “A Boy Named Sue” while noting he first memorized the tune as a child. He furthermore joked the ceremony’s organizers purposefully limited speakers’ time to ensure he would not break out into song.

“While many statues are of people some of us have never heard of, this one will be of someone where people will see this masterpiece and know this legendary singer-songwriter represented,” added Womack.

The Rose and Clarke statues were placed on Capitol Hill in 1917 and 1921 respectively. Crews removed both statues in April in anticipation of the Bates and Cash sculptures.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Cash’s catalog includes “profoundly powerful works” across several music genres.

“Before Jay-Z dropped ‘The Black Album,’ hip-hop supergroup NWA wore black LA Raiders baseball caps, or the pioneering heavy metal rock band Black Sabbath emerged on the scene, Johnny Cash was ‘The Man in Black,’” Jeffries said. “His substance, his swagger and his style inspired generations of artists from every genre imaginable.”

Cash is depicted standing on a wooden porch with a guitar across his back and a Bible in his hand. His head is tilted downward, watching people as they pass by the statue.

Kresse included part of ‘Man in Black’ on the left side of the limestone pedestal holding the Cash statue. In the 1971 song, Cash explained he wore black on stage to represent “the poor and beaten down,” “the prisoner who has long paid for his crime” and others he believed society ignores.

On the pedestal directly below Cash reads the titles of “singer,” “songwriter,” “artist” and “humanitarian.”

“It’s been said that Johnny Cash — though he came from a little town in Arkansas — knew how to talk to all of America,” Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said. “His catalog, in essence, tells the story of our country.”

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said millions of Americans can look at Cash’s work and believe he represented them.

“When so much of today’s world is fake, Johnny Cash was very real,” she said.

Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., plays guitar and sings in the band Triple Nickel. Speaking with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette last week, the congressman from Jonesboro acknowledged Cash as an influence in his decision to learn the guitar.

Crawford and Triple Nickel performed at Monday’s pre-reception.

“Honoring this global icon today is a fitting tribute to the man whose contributions to music, our culture and society will transcend time,” Crawford said Tuesday. “Johnny Cash, a great American patriot and by every measure a great American classic.”

On the right side of the statue’s pedestal is a Cash quote: “All your life you will be faced with a choice. You can choose love or hate. I choose love.”

Speaking during Monday’s pre-reception — Kresse expressed hope people will consider Cash’s words seriously.

“When we look across the table at our family and friends, when we look across the street at our neighbors, when we look across borders at people who speak a different language and look different from us, and maybe the toughest of all, when we look across the aisle and see someone from a different party, we need to remember we have a choice,” he said.

“My hope for this piece is that for those millions of people and for us, when we look at this piece and we look at that man who had such dignity — he had such empathy for his fellow human beings, he had such a beautiful heart — that we can all look into our own hearts and realize we have the capacity. We can make the choice to say, ‘I choose love.’”

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