If there was ever a dream for America, it was Dolly Parton.
Dolly was one of twelve children born and raised in a two-room cabin in Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains. By the time she passed at 80 years old, she’d become the most recognizable face in country music, a noted philanthropist, and a beacon of kindness throughout the country. Author, non-profit founder, and devoted Dolly fan Stacy Davies1 said, “I didn’t grow up with a lot of love or affection in our home, but I knew these things existed because Dolly Parton existed.”
Dolly’s music and persona sent this message loud and clear, along with the reminder that a girl from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, could go from having nothing to being Somebody. But people aren’t mourning Dolly because “Jolene” is such a fucking banger (though it is) or because she had the best jokes.
People are mourning Dolly because she was a rare light of kindness and goodness in a world that is needlessly cruel more and more of the time. And Dolly didn’t save that light for those lucky enough to see her play live or even just for those who liked her music. She showed up for the folks the world is most cruel to early, and often.
You likely know about her starting Dollywood2 as a way to employ people3 in her home area, and the incredible legacy of the Imagination Library, which has provided over 300 million books to kids across the US. You may have heard that she personally sponsored a class of seventh- and eighth-graders in her home county, paying each $500 if they graduated high school. If you were awake at all in 2020, you know she put $1m toward the Moderna Covid vaccine. There are so many stories of her investment in other people and her philanthropy that it’s hard to collect them all.4
But did you know that Dolly Parton was among the very first celebrities to advocate for AIDS patients when the disease was still highly stigmatized, and Ronald Reagan’s press room was still flinging gay jokes and yukking it up as AIDS tore through gay communities? In 1989, her production company co-produced the documentary Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, which “explores the human stories obscured by statistics” and celebrates the activism in the gay community that was intertwined so fiercely with their grief. She was also part of the Break The Silence campaign, contributed a song to a charity album to raise funds for AIDS research, and continued to make personal financial donations and directed money from her Dollywood Foundation to AIDS charities.
She’s spoken several times about her belief that queer people (including trans people,5 specifically) needed the right to be who they are. And again, as she always did, she put her money where her mouth was. She stood publicly against bathroom bills, and challenged anti-trans laws in her home state of Tennessee. She was an early supporter of marriage equality, a lover of drag culture, and included queer stories in her music and TV productions. She famously refused to get involved in politics, which made the message clear: Dolly never believed who you are or who you love should be political.
The reason you see so many stories of how Dolly made people feel loved in their brief moments or lifelong friendships is that Dolly lived a loving life. She chose to credit Whitney Houston and celebrate her success when she took “I Will Always Love You” and shot it through the stratosphere, then used the royalty money to invest in a Black community in Nashville. She chose to invest back in her home community and fight poverty. She chose to give kids books and foster their love of reading. She chose not to be a billionaire. And she chose, over and over again, to give her clear and unwavering support to the queer community and outsiders of all kinds, to be themselves and be treated well.
The world will not be a better place with Dolly gone. But we can honor her memory by giving back to our communities, loving people, and being a beacon of kindness that reminds folks America can have a dream. It starts with love and kindness.
Editor’s Note: When RA and I went to our first Orville Peck Rodeo, we wore Dolly Parton shirts. Yes, we are both absolutely heartbroken over this news. We didn’t know a god could die. -Nicole
- She also told me she got to see that iconic Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers concert live! I’ll give you all a moment to die of envy and come back. ↩︎
- Yes, we know about the Dixieland Stampede. We also know it is no longer called that. Yes, we know some people think she “should have known” that the term “Dixieland” was offensive, showing a glaring lack of understanding of the cultural attitudes around the concept of “Dixie” and “Dixieland” up through the 1990s, the education system, and a whole lot of other things. Direct your complaints to my butt. ↩︎
- The biggest and “best” employer in the area, to be specific. ↩︎
- We forgot to mention her giving direct financial support to families displaced by wildfires so they could eat while insurance and other aid kicked in. And her investments in women’s health. And… and … and… ↩︎
- Gotta say it, can’t assume it. ↩︎
