Calls in Tennessee to replace all Confederate statues with Dolly Parton

Petition gathers momentum calling for Confederate statues to be torn down in Tennessee and replaced instead with monuments to someone who has worked her entire life to bring us closer together: Dolly Parton

Thousands Sign Petition to Replace Tennessee’s Confederate Monuments With Dolly Parton

Amid widespread calls to rid the US of Confederate memorials, another movement is rising to replace them with the likeness of an icon many feel represents the opposite of hatred and oppression: Dolly Parton. A petition to replace Tennessee’s confederate monuments with Dolly Parton statues has gained thousands of signatures, with people of all political affiliations vocalising their support on Twitter.

Petition asks Tennessee Governor and the State House to honour the country singer

Across the United States, protests in response to police brutality and the killing of George Floyd have sparked a renewed drive to eliminate Confederate monuments around the country. 

There are some 700 Confederate monuments in 31 states and the District of Columbia in the United States. Eleven states seceded from the Union on the outset of the Civil War.

According to a 2017 report, there are approximately 70 Confederate monuments in the state of Tennessee. Most are found on battlefields, in cemeteries, and on courthouse lawns or public squares. A majority were erected between 1885 and 1915.

One Tennessean in particular is petitioning to replace the state’s statues with a homage to country legend Dolly Parton. Alex Parsons created the petition asking Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and the Tennessee State House to honour the country singer because she "has worked her entire life to bring us closer together." — whereas the Confederacy most certainly did not. 

“Tennessee is littered with statues memorializing confederate officers. History should not be forgotten, but we need not glamorize those who do not deserve our praise. Instead, let us honor a true Tennessee hero, Dolly Parton,”  the Change.org petition begins.

“Aside from her beautiful music, which has touched the hearts and lives of millions of Americans, Dolly Parton’s philanthropic heart has unquestionably changed the world for the better. From the Dollywood foundation that has provided books and scholarships to millions of American children, to the millions of dollars she has donated to dozens of organizations such as the Red Cross and COVID-19 research centers, Dolly Parton has given more to this country and this state than those confederate officers could ever have hoped to take away.“

The petition concludes: “Let’s replace the statues of men who sought to tear this country apart with a monument to the woman who has worked her entire life to bring us closer together.”

At the time of writing, the petition has 19,780 of 25,000 signatories required — but this isn’t the first call for monuments of Dolly Parton, and she is not the only icon being put forward. See below.

Tennessee Politician Tries to Replace a Racist KKK Statue With a Dolly Parton Statue

This is not the first time there have been calls for Dolly to replace monuments to racists. Tennessee State Representative Jeremy Faison wants to replace a bust of the KKK’s founder that currently sits in the state’s capitol building. Last December, he called for the statue to be removed and replaced with a Dolly Parton statue — an idea that faces stiff resistance from other lawmakers.

A bust of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest graces the halls of the Tennessee state capitol. Forrest was a slave trader and one of the first members of the Ku Klux Klan.

Speaking in an interview with The Tennessean newspaper, Faison suggested Dolly Parton or state suffragette Anne Dallas Dudley as replacements.

And Parton isn’t the only music sensation deemed worthy of statewide honour. A similar petition vows for statues of Britney Spears to replace Louisina’s confederate monuments, citing her philanthropic contributions, including her donation of Las Vegas residency ticket sales to Louisiana flood recovery. The petition has garnered 40,700 of the 50,000 requested signatures at the time of publication.