A petition to replace Confederate statues with monuments of Dolly Parton is picking up steam.
Last week, a fan named Alex Parsons started a petition online through Change.org to remove all statues commemorating Confederate figures in Tennessee and replace them with ones of the Tennessee native.
Alex cites Dolly as a “true Tennessee hero,” referring to her revered songs and multiple philanthropic efforts like Imagination Library that provides books to children in need and her donations to COVID-19 research efforts as some of the many reasons why she deserves to be commemorated in her home state.
“Memorials to the Confederacy were intended, in part, to obscure the terrorism required to overthrow Reconstruction, and to intimidate African Americans politically and isolate them from the mainstream of public life,” Alex explains. “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.”
The petition currently has north of 8,000 signatures, with an overall goal of 10,000.
In the wake of the death of George Floyd, Confederate statues have been coming down in states across the country, with ABC News reporting that monuments in Louisville, Kentucky; Jacksonville, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; and Richmond, Virginia have been removed.
By Cillea Houghton
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