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Johnny Cash will be saying "Hello Out There" to myriad tourists visiting the U.S. Capitol from now on – after congressional leaders got together to unveil a statue of the legendary musician.
Both Republican and Democratic leaders joined members of Cash’s family for the ceremonial event, which attracted hundreds of other attendees on Tuesday.
The statue is the latest to be unveiled in the halls of Congress and the first of a professional musician – something House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., noted in his opening remarks.
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"Johnny Cash is the perfect person to be honored in that way. He was a man who embodies the American spirit in a way that few could. He was an everyday man. He loved the fish, and he suffered the pain of loss. He was the son of southern farmers and of the Great Depression," Johnson said. "Americans related to Johnny Cash."
He acknowledged that some people may wonder why Cash was being honored in the way of historic trailblazers, past presidents, and dignitaries.
"The answer is pretty simple. It’s because America is about more than laws and politics," Johnson said. "Johnny Cash gave a voice to the struggles of the people who were downtrodden and marginalized and who were too often forgotten."
"When we forgot about the factory line worker, there was Johnny Cash singing about that fellow who built the car one piece at a time. When we had forgotten about our troops, there was Johnny Cash, the man in black, remembering the 100,000 who died for that [flag]. When we forgot about the Native American, there was Johnny Cash, reminding us of the petrified but justified Apache tears."
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., noted in his own remarks that music has long been a part of American culture.
"From the very beginning, in the DNA of this great country, artistic creativity has been recognized as incredibly important to our growth, our culture and to the American experiment," Jeffries said. "Throughout his life, he created a catalog of profoundly powerful works that cannot be described to a single genre. At different times, he was country, blues, rock and roll and gospel."
"At all times, Johnny Cash was uniquely American. He was a trailblazing, transformational and trend-setting figure."
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Cash’s relatives participated in the ceremony as well – Admiral Carey Cash, a chaplain and the musician’s great-nephew, delivered the opening prayer.
The statue shows Cash with a guitar on his back and a Bible in hand. He’s one of three statues at the Capitol holding the Bible, another being Billy Graham.
Each state selects two statues to be represented in the halls of the U.S. Capitol.
Arkansas’ state legislature voted in 2019 to replace statues of two lesser-known figures with Cash and civil rights activist Daisy Bates. The latter statue was debuted earlier this year.
The Cash statue was created by Little Rock artist Kevin Kresse.
It’s a nod to Cash’s own roots, growing up in Dyess, Arkansas, on a cotton farm before going on to become one of the best-selling musical artists in history.
