Criminology Commons^™

Singing Across The Scars Of Wrong: Johnny Cash And His Struggle For Social Justice, Kenneth D. Tunnell, Mark S. Hamm

Justice Studies Faculty and Staff Research

The life and music of Johnny Cash are explored in this article as we detail his commitment to social justice. Situating his politics and biography within a cultural criminology orientation, we show that Cash's lived politics and edgy music reflect his concerns with the working class, the dispossessed, the rebellious, the American Indian, and above all, the convict. A pusher of social causes, Cash advocated for prison reform through decades of social activism and public and private politics. DOI: 10.1177/1741659009346015

Singing Across The Scars Of Wrong: Johnny Cash And His Struggle For Social Justice, Kenneth Tunnell, Mark Hamm

Kenneth Tunnell

The life and music of Johnny Cash are explored in this article as we detail his commitment to social justice. Situating his politics and biography within a cultural criminology orientation, we show that Cash's lived politics and edgy music reflect his concerns with the working class, the dispossessed, the rebellious, the American Indian, and above all, the convict. A pusher of social causes, Cash advocated for prison reform through decades of social activism and public and private politics.

DOI: 10.1177/1741659009346015