By Arkansas Black Vitality

May 28, 2025 – Arkansas PBS is now streaming the original documentary from award-winning filmmaker Nathan Willis, which explores the creation and installation of Arkansas’s newest statues at the U.S. Capitol and the enduring legacies of two of the state’s most iconic figures.

“Unveiled: Daisy Bates and Johnny Cash,” which first premiered on March 20 at the Robinson Center in downtown Little Rock, explores the creation and installation of Arkansas’s newest statues and the enduring legacies of two of the state’s most iconic figures. It is now available on myarpbs.org/live and in the PBS App. To view the documentary online, click here.

Just over a year ago, Bates and Cash were added as the Arkansas representatives for the National Statuary Hall Collection at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. During the 2019 legislative session, the Arkansas General Assembly agreed to replace the state’s first two Statuary Hall sculptures of U.M. Rose and James Paul Clarke with statues of civil rights activist Bates and world-renowned singer/songwriter Cash.

“Unveiled” documents the selection, creation and installation process of these new works for National Statuary Hall; illuminates the lives of Bates and Cash as worthy subjects for this honor; and reflects the creative process of the artists commissioned to create these sculptures. The film features interviews with the artist finalists on the steering committee, behind-the-scenes footage of the artists at work, and the installation at the U.S. Capitol.

“For those of us who have had the honor to be a part of this historic event in our state’s history, we will always consider it one of the greatest moments of our lives,” said Shane Broadway, chairman of the National Statuary Hall Steering Committee. ‘“Unveiled” will share our experience, highlight two amazingly gifted artists, and share the challenging yet inspiring Arkansas stories of Daisy Gatson Bates and Johnny Cash for generations of Americans to come.”

The entire National Statuary Hall collection comprises 100 bronze or marble statues, each contributed by one of the 50 states, with two statues allocated to each state. The first statue was placed in 1870. By 1971, all 50 states had contributed at least one statue, and by 1990, all but five states had contributed two statues.

The committee has worked for about a year with the families and officials with the Hall to place and construct the statues. Bates will be placed next to a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and next to another civil rights icon, Rosa Parks. Cash, the first musician in the Hall, will be placed in the Hall Visitor Center.

Bates was a civil rights activist who worked to end segregation in Little Rock. She was an NAACP leader and led the school integration movement in Arkansas during the civil rights era. Bates also served as an advocate and counselor for the nine students who were part of the historic desegregation of Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The state honors her with “Daisy Gatson Bates Day” on the third Monday in February.

Cash, one of the best-selling music artists of all time, was born in Kingsland, Cleveland County, Arkansas, and raised in Dyess, Mississippi County. He is primarily remembered for his distinctive country music style, which fused rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk, and gospel.

A towering figure in American music, he sold 90 million records during his career; was inducted into the Country Music, Rock and Roll, and Gospel Music Halls of Fame; and became known as a champion of the working class, of Native Americans, and of those whom life had dealt a tough hand.

Up to 5 million people worldwide visit the National Hall each year in the nation’s capital. A push began early in the 2019 session to replace the Confederate-era statues of Rose and Clarke at the Hall.

Major funding for “Unveiled: Daisy Bates and Johnny Cash” was provided by the Foundation for Arkansas Heritage and History. The Moving Image Trust Fund provided additional funding.