Stop using Johnny Cash for your hateful rallies, his children tell neo-Nazis

If you're a neo-Nazi and think about wearing that old Johnny Cash t-shirt especially the one where he's flipping the finger, think twice.

The children of the legendary singer have taken to Facebook to tell white-supremacists and neo-Nazis to not use their dad for their cause.

Singer Rosanne Cash and the others said they were alerted to a video of a young man in Charlottesville, "a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi" who was wearing a Johnny Cash t-shirt while "spreading hatred and bile".

"We were sickened by the association," they wrote. "Johnny Cash was a man whose heart beat with the rhythm of love and social justice."

Among other causes, Cash championed the rights of Native Americans, protested against the war in Vietnam and overall "was a voice for the poor, the struggling and the disenfranchised, and an advocate for the rights of prisoners."

"His pacifism and inclusive patriotism were two of his most defining characteristics," they added. "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."

Johnny Cash's family don't want his image associated with racist rallies. It goes against everything he stood for. Credit: HULTON ARCHIVE / Getty Images

The letter goes on to slam neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville, "an insult to every American who wore a uniform to fight the Nazis in WWII."

Several members of the extended Cash family served during the war, they said.

"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," the letter continued.

The message ends with a quote from civil rights leader John Lewis: "Not one of us can rest, be happy, be at home, be at peace with ourselves, until we end hatred and division."