Petition launches to replace statue of KKK leader with Dolly Parton

As statues of colonial or racist figureheads are torn down across the world, it’s pretty obvious that the Tennessee Capitol building’s monument to former KKK leader Nathan Bedford Forrest would be next on the list. Local Alex Parsons has started a petition for this very cause, calling for the State House to replace the statue with a “true Tennessee hero.”

Let’s be real, there’s only one person who meets these qualifications. That would be the eight-time Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated, country icon Dolly Parton.

A petition has started over in the US, calling for the statue of a former KKK leader to be replaced with a monument to Tennessee’s pride and joy, Dolly Parton.

“Tennessee is littered with statues memorialising confederate officers,” the petition reads. “History should not be forgotten, but we need not glamorise those who do not deserve our praise.” 

“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 Parton petition currently has 3,690 signatures. I cannot stress the phrase “at the time of writing” enough, as this number is increasing by the second.

It’s nothing groundbreaking to say that Dolly Parton is one of the most significant figures in the music industry today. Along with her timeless catalogue and numerous accolades, the songwriter has long been heralded for her philanthropy. Including the Save the Music Foundation, the Make-a-Wish program, and United Way, Parton has given back to causes across the globe. Not to mention that she’s just generally an icon.

This is a fact that Parsons is well aware of this, noting that her “beautiful music” and “philanthropic heart” have “given more to this country and this state than those confederate officers could ever have hoped to take away”.