Online Petition Calls for Dolly Parton Statue to Replace Confederate Leaders in Tenn.

An online petition that asks the governor of Tennessee and other local lawmakers to replace statues of Confederate leaders in the state with statues of Dolly Parton is gaining much traction.

As of this writing, the Change.org petition has over 16,500 signatures.

"Tennessee is littered with statues memorializing Confederate officers," the petition says. "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 New York Times reports that a Republican legislator proposed in December 2019 to build the statue of Parton, who was born in Pittman Center, Tenn., to replace the statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a former Confederate general, slave trader and the leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

"If we want to preserve history, then let's tell it the right way," Rep. Jeremy Faison told the Tennesseean. "How about getting a lady in there? My daughter is 16, and I would love for her to come into the Capitol and see a lady up there.... What's wrong with someone like Dolly Parton being put in that alcove?"

Parton has a long history of charitable efforts, including HIV/AIDS and her Imagine Library program, which provides millions of books to children around the U.S. More recently, she donated $1 million towards COVID-19 research.

Parton has yet to speak about the petition. Click here to check it out.