The late American entertainer Johnny Cash was a country music legend who embraced all races and religions.
His children say they were “sickened” to see his name on the T-shirt of a white supremacist who marched through Charlottesville last Saturday.
In a message posted on social media, Cash’s five children call their father “a man whose heart beat with the rhythm of love and social justice.”
Humanitarian awards
They say Cash would have been “horrified at even a casual use of his name or image for an idea or a cause founded in persecution and hatred.”
The Cashes say their father was the proud recipient of humanitarian awards from groups including the Jewish National Fund and United Nations. He was a champion for the rights of Native Americans, protested the Vietnam War, and stood up for the poor.
They said Cash chose love over hate and asked that his name be kept away from “destructive and hateful ideology.”
Deep bass, shy manner
Cash was known for his deep bass voice, black stage outfits, and a somewhat shy manner.
His signature songs include I Walk the Line, Folsom Prison Blues, Ring of Fire, and the humorous A Boy Named Sue.
Cash sold tens of millions of records before he died in 2003.
