In a significant event held on May 16 in the National Statuary Hall, a statue of the late global evangelist Billy Graham was unveiled, with the inscriptions of John 3:16 and John 14:6 etched into its base.
The statue serves as a testament to the salvation offered through Christ Jesus, as Graham had preached throughout his life.
During the ceremony, U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) emphasized the grace of God, stating, "Friends, Gods grace is undeserved, but through Christ it is freely given. And it is by trusting in Gods sacrifice that we are saved." He further expressed his hope and prayer for those who have yet to make a decision for themselves.
The unveiling was attended by several notable figures, including U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, and members of Graham's family. The statue replaces the one of Charles Aycock, an early 20th-century North Carolina governor known for his staunch white supremacist views.
Governor Cooper acknowledged the significance of this replacement, stating, "Today, we acknowledge that he (Graham) is a better representation of our state than the statue it replaces, which brought memories of a painful history of racism." He added that while Graham was not perfect, he believed in redemption and dedicated his life to spreading this message.
US Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) lauded Graham as a pioneer in race relations, particularly during the 1950s when segregation was openly embraced by leaders in the South. "It was Billy Graham who spoke out against it," Tillis said. He also noted that Graham insisted on integrating his sermons and shared his platform with Black ministers, including Martin Luther King Jr.
U.S. Senate Chaplain Barry Black, in his prayer, likened Graham's life to "the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless day, and like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth."
Franklin Graham, the late evangelist's son and president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritans Purse, expressed his father's likely discomfort with such praise. However, he thanked the leaders for the honor, emphasizing that his father would have wanted the focus to be on Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Billy Graham's life and legacy were celebrated by the speakers, who remembered him as the "leading ambassador of the Kingdom in our lifetime," as Johnson put it, and as a man who, in Coopers words, "treated all with dignity and respect."
The statue, sculpted by Charlotte-based artist Chas Fagan, stands at 7 feet tall, depicting Graham holding an open Bible in his left hand, his right gesturing palm-down above the page. Johnson noted that the Bible is specifically open to Galatians 6, verse 14.
Johnson also highlighted that the plywood casket in which Graham was buried was made by imprisoned men at Angola in his home state of Louisiana. "Rev. Graham humbled himself to care for the poor, and prisoners, the forgotten, the lost and the least of these, exactly what the Scripture tells us to do," Johnson said.
The statue was approved by the North Carolina General Assembly in 2015. Graham now joins Civil War-era N.C. Gov. Zebulon Vance in comprising North Carolinas Statuary Hall statues. Each state is allotted two.
Graham is one of only four Americans who have received the nations three highest honors of the Congressional Gold Medal, lying in state, and having a statue in the Capitol, Johnson noted. The others are Presidents Gerald R. Ford and Ronald Reagan, and Civil Rights leader Rosa Parks.
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