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.
Students “astonished” in D.C. on Arkansas MLK commission ‘Dream Keepers Tour’
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.