Many artists have spoken out against the violence and hatred at Charlottesville last weekend (as well as Donald Trump's ridiculous response), and now the family of late country legend Johnny Cash have joined the ranks — after one neo-Nazi made things particularly personal.
A video surfaced on Wednesday depicting an "alt-right" protestor in Charlottesville sporting a Cash t-shirt, and the singer's family have issued a statement to denounce white supremacists and preserve Cash's legacy.
"We were sickened by the association," his children — Rosanne, Kathy, Cindy, Tara and John Carter — said in the message.
They continued to describe their father as "a man whose heart beat with the rhythm of love and social justice," and noted his devotion to Native American rights, Vietnam War protests, advocating for prisoners, fighting gun violence and serving as a "voice for the poor, the struggling and the disenfranchised."
The message goes on to declare: "He would be horrified at even a casual use of his name or image for an idea or a cause founded in persecution and hatred. The white supremacists and neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville are poison in our society, and an insult to every American hero who wore a uniform to fight the Nazis in WWII. Several men in the extended Cash family were among those who served with honor."
"Our dad told each of us, over and over throughout our lives, 'Children, you can choose love or hate. I choose love,'" the note continues, before ending with a powerful message of equality and inclusion.
Read the full statement via Roseanne Cash's Facebook page below.
A video surfaced on Wednesday depicting an "alt-right" protestor in Charlottesville sporting a Cash t-shirt, and the singer's family have issued a statement to denounce white supremacists and preserve Cash's legacy.
"We were sickened by the association," his children — Rosanne, Kathy, Cindy, Tara and John Carter — said in the message.
They continued to describe their father as "a man whose heart beat with the rhythm of love and social justice," and noted his devotion to Native American rights, Vietnam War protests, advocating for prisoners, fighting gun violence and serving as a "voice for the poor, the struggling and the disenfranchised."
The message goes on to declare: "He would be horrified at even a casual use of his name or image for an idea or a cause founded in persecution and hatred. The white supremacists and neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville are poison in our society, and an insult to every American hero who wore a uniform to fight the Nazis in WWII. Several men in the extended Cash family were among those who served with honor."
"Our dad told each of us, over and over throughout our lives, 'Children, you can choose love or hate. I choose love,'" the note continues, before ending with a powerful message of equality and inclusion.
Read the full statement via Roseanne Cash's Facebook page below.
