A statue of Dolly Parton?
NASHVILLE, TENN. >> A statue of country music icon Dolly Parton could be added to the Capitol grounds in Nashville, Tennessee, if one state lawmaker gets his way.
Democratic Rep. John Mark Windle introduced a bill Tuesday that aims to honor Parton “for all that she has contributed to this state,” news outlets reported.
Aside from her status as a music icon, Parton is a lifelong philanthropist. She founded the Imagination Library, which mails books to children under the age of 5 across the world to improve child literacy, and her million-dollar donation to Vanderbilt University helped develop the highly effective Moderna coronavirus vaccine. Her advocacy for racial justice was recently celebrated in a Nashville mural.
Windle said the state capitol commission would solicit input to develop a plan for the statue, including its design, and he said it should face toward the Ryman Auditorium, where she sometimes performs. No taxpayer dollars would be spent according to the bill, which would create a fund for private gifts, grants and donations to pay for the statue.
“At this point in history, is there a better example, not just in America but in the world, of a leader that is (a) kind, decent, passionate human being?” Windle said Wednesday. “(She’s) a passionate person who loves everyone, and everyone loves her.”
Windle told a Nashville TV station that, if approved, the commission would also solicit input from the public and “other interested parties” to develop the plan, including the statue design.
“The influx of people that have moved to Tennessee in the last several years is directly related to the kind, compassionate nature of Tennesseans, and she is the perfect example of that,” Windle told The Tennessean. “She has contributed so much and sacrificed so much of her time to so many great causes.”
According to Billboard magazine, more than 25,000 people signed a Change.org petition to replace one of the many statues of Confederate officers in the state with one immortalizing Parton, a “true Tennessee hero.”
“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,” wrote Alex Parsons, who started the petition.