Johnny Cash statue to be displayed at US Capitol Building in September

A statue of Johnny Cash will soon be placed in the Capitol building in Washington, DC come September. The musician's statue will be placed as one of the two allowed statues for the state of Arkansas.

According to a letter signed by House and Senate leadership that went out to congressmen on the Hill, Cash's statue will be erected in the building on Sept. 24, 2024. The letter stated, "Please join us at a ceremony commemorating the dedication of a National Statuary Hall Collection Statue in honor of Johnny Cash of Arkansas."

Traditionally, each state can place two statues in the Capitol. When one statue is moved in, one of the two has to be removed. Cash is going to be replacing Arkansas' 18th governor, James Paul Clarke, per CNN. Clarke's statue was installed in 1921. Members of the Cash family as well as members of the Arkansas congressional delegation will attend. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) will be in attendance as well, per The Hill.

The statue from Cash will likely be placed in Emancipation Hall or the Statuary Hall within the building. The bill to replace Clarke as a statue was signed into law in 2019 by then-Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson. Cash’s daughter, Rosanne Cash said at the time, “We’re especially honored that a statue of my dad has been chosen to represent Arkansas in our nation’s Capitol.”

Those who are honored in the Capitol building with statues are deceased figures who usually have a significant contribution to the state they are from or had contributions nationally. A visually prominent statue in the collection includes King Kamehameha from Hawaii, as large portions of it are a bright gold color.

Another unique statue is Ronald Reagan's, found in the Rotunda, where statues, if they are state sponsored, must be of a past president. Reagan's statue has pieces of the Berlin Wall built into its base.