A statue of Johnny Cash, known as "The Man in Black," was unveiled in the Capitol.

In the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, statues of presidents, including George Washington and Ronald Reagan, are displayed.

Inventors such as Thomas Edison of Ohio and Utah's Philo Farnsworth, who is credited with helping create television, line the walls of the Capitol complex.

American heroes, including Helen Keller, Amelia Earhart, and astronaut Jack Swigart, are depicted in statues.

Junipero Sera from California and Father Damien of Hawaii emerge as religious figures.

Representatives of civil rights figures, including Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, are prominently featured.

Will Rogers of Oklahoma and Willa Cather of Nebraska are both renowned writers.

But there were no musicians.

Until now.

He’s known simply as the Man in Black.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, R-Ark., stated at a recent dedication ceremony that Johnny Cash walked the line, but it was not a straight line. Instead, it was more like the jagged Arkansas River. However, it always moved forward.

Congress is expanding its reach into the arts and pop culture.

"Why does a musician have a statue in the halls of the great American republic?" questioned House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. "The answer is straightforward: America is more than just law and politics."

The latest addition to the Capitol collection is Cash's statue, which replaced the statue of Sen. James Clarke, D-Ark., a segregationist. Each state receives two statues on Capitol Hill, and the Arkansas state legislature voted in 2019 to swap out both of its statues. Earlier this year, officials removed the statue of Uriah Rose, a Confederate sympathizer and founder of the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock, associated with Hillary Clinton and other Clinton Administration figures. In exchange, they installed a statue of civil rights activist Daisy Bates.

The singer's signature introduction, "Hello. I'm Johnny Cash," is conveyed by the bronze statue through its golden-throated voice.

The singer is depicted in a tuxedo shirt with ruffles, holding a Bible in his left hand and an acoustic guitar slung across his back. The guitar's neck is pointed downward, and he wears cowboy boots.

Joanne Cash, now blind, spent several moments feeling the contours of the bronzed version of her brother, Cash, who was revealed moments after the cloth was removed from the statue.

The statue embodied the paradox of Cash, with a tranquil aura that symbolized the harmony of opposites.

""Johnny is the nice one, while Cash is the one who causes trouble," said Sanders."

The governor mentioned Cash's albums being recorded at Folsom State Prison and San Quentin.

Sanders stated, "He, too, looked out at the prison crowd and saw a version of himself staring back."

She stated that Cash wrote about feeling like a walking embodiment of death.

Besides Cash, no one else would be performing at Folsom Prison, as observed by Johnson.

According to Johnson, Johnny Cash's most significant songs were those about farmers affected by floodwaters in "Five Feet High and Rising." He emphasized that these songs were crucial to his repertoire as he highlighted the plight of "forgotten men and women."

Those were some of the most important songs in Cash’s repertoire.

Johnny Cash's "Man in Black" persona was always shrouded in darkness, which lent a sense of drama to his lyrics, making them even more powerful.

In Big River, Cash wrote that he taught the weeping willow how to cry.

In Hurt, Cash concedes that he will let you down and make you hurt.

"In one of his most famous tunes, Cash belts out, "I fell into a fiery ring and it keeps burning, burning, burning.""

Simple.

Yet mercilessly true.

"Rosanne Cash, Cash's daughter and singer, stated that he was a Shakespeare of the South. He wrote reams of poetry and was a humble, compassionate man with a magnificent generosity of spirit, despite his flaws."

His daughter stated that Cash appreciated those who acknowledged their mistakes and failures, as he too struggled with darkness throughout his life.

Despite his struggles, Cash's daughter learned a valuable lesson from him.

Rosanne often told us children in heated moments, "You have the power to pick love or hate. I choose love."

The words are engraved on the statue's base for all to see.

The Man in Black, Johnny Cash, inspired generations of artists before Jay-Z and Black Sabbath.

"Jeffries joked that Snoop Doggy Dogg had given Johnny Cash a compliment by calling him a "real American gangster.""

Even lawmakers recite Cash’s lyrics.

"I can see the gravel in his gut and the spit in his eye," said Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., referencing Cash's country hit A Boy Named Sue. "I loved that song so much that I committed its lyrics to memory."

Everyone is familiar with Johnny Cash, despite many people who visit Congress being unfamiliar with some of the individuals honored with Capitol statues.

"According to Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark, Johnny Cash's music can be heard on classic country, classic rock, and gospel, demonstrating his versatility as a musician."

As Johnny Cash crooned, "I’ve been everywhere."

Now he’s been to the U.S. Capitol.

But here he’ll stay.

In permanent residence.