Johnny Cash’s Children Speak out After T-Shirt Spotted on Charlottesville Protester

After the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, a photo of one of the protesters wearing a T-shirt with music icon, Johnny Cash circulated on the internet.

In response to the image, Cash’s children took to Facebook on Wednesday to denounce white supremacists, white nationalists, Ku Klux Klan members, and the neo-Nazis rallying this past Saturday.

In the note, which was posted on Rosanne Cash’s Facebook page, Cash and her siblings explain that they were made aware of the video and wanted to take the opportunity to disassociate their father’s legacy from being used as a symbol for the rally and any such events of the type moving forward.

Letting fans know of the lessons their father taught them and how he always chose lover over hate, read their powerful letter below:

“We were alerted to a video of a young man in Charlottesville, a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi, spewing hatred and bile. He was wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the name of Johnny Cash, our father. We were sickened by the association.

Johnny Cash was a man whose heart beat with the rhythm of love and social justice. He received humanitarian awards from, among others, the Jewish National Fund, B’nai Birth, and the United Nations. He championed the rights of Native Americans, protested the war in Vietnam, was a voice for the poor, the struggling and the disenfranchised, and an advocate for the rights of prisoners.

Along with our sister Rosanne, he was on the advisory board of an organization solely devoted to preventing gun violence among children. His pacifism and inclusive patriotism were two of his most defining characteristics. 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-Nazi 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.’

We do not judge race, color, sexual orientation or creed. We value the capacity for love and the impulse towards kindness. We respect diversity, and cherish our shared humanity. We recognize the suffering of other human beings, and remain committed to our natural instinct for compassion and service.

To any who claim supremacy over other human beings, to any who believe in racial or religious hierarchy: we are not you. Our father, as a person, icon, or symbol, is not you. We ask that the Cash name be kept far away from destructive and hateful ideology.

We Choose Love.”

The letter was signed by Rosanne, Kathy, Cindy, Tara, and John Carter Cash.