LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Editor's Note: The video above is from 2019.
More than 30 sculptors have applied to create the statues of Little Rock Nine mentor Daisy Gatson Bates and musician Johnny Cash.
Fifteen people applied to design and cast Bates’ statue. Cash’s statue received 16 applications. They were submitted to the secretary of state’s office.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Thursday that statues will represent Arkansas in the National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol.
The sculptures’ tentative deadline for completion is Dec. 31, 2021, but that could be extended.
The state has appropriated $750,000 for the project.
The state Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism says the project has garnered $146,025 in contributions.