https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-and-girl-painting-on-wall-0Ec42BFrTJ4
Edited by Alex Elstrodt, Samantha Ruenzi, Amelia Cantwell, & Owen Andrews
When Dolly Parton, the beloved “Queen of Country,” passed away in late August, America erupted in a rare moment of universal grief. As tributes and reactions swept the internet, one sentiment stuck out: Dolly Parton was the last thing America could agree on. Dolly Parton was widely known for her blond, bouffant hair and glamorous, glitzy appearance, but she was more than just a glamorous celebrity. Long before she was famous, Parton grew up in deep poverty with 11 siblings in Sevier County, Tennessee. Her family didn’t have access to plumbing or electricity, and the only coat she had was sewn from scraps (as mentioned in her famous song “Coat of Many Colors”). Despite coming from hardship, she found success through music as early as 13 years old. After that, she quickly rose to fame for both singing and songwriting, selling over 100 million records worldwide.
At the time of her passing, Parton’s fanbase included every age, race, political party, and region of the country. She was adored by drag queens, Black communities, and Evangelical Republicans alike. Few politicians, world leaders, or other celebrities have managed to amass such a diverse, devoted following, and in a country that feels more divided every day, Dolly Parton’s legacy can teach us four valuable lessons, so we can all start to agree a little more.
1) Non-partisan doesn’t mean apolitical.
In an age of cancel culture and deep political polarization, Dolly Parton consciously rejected expectations of how celebrities should use their platforms. Throughout her time in the spotlight, she intentionally chose not to share her partisan affiliation and never endorsed a candidate or publicly supported a party. To call her apolitical, though, couldn’t be further from the truth. She spoke out in support of Black Lives Matter, women’s rights, the importance of vaccinations, and LGBTQ+ rights, all while maintaining an audience that spanned the political spectrum. People of all groups cared about what Parton had to say because she never labeled important issues as “Democrat” or “Republican” topics.
2) Put your money where your mouth is.
What made Dolly Parton truly unique was how she turned her influence into impact. While other celebrities release statements condemning timely controversies or apologizing for not being “politically correct,” Parton was focused on challenging inequality at a structural level. She spent her life doing the work that most public figures simply speak about.
Having sung and written some of the most successful songs in history, such as Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" and her own “9 to 5,” Parton built a long and wildly successful career. Analysts believe that the royalties from Parton’s music, combined with her stakes in companies like Dollywood Company, Sandollar Productions, Dolly Beauty, and Blue Eye Records, should have made her a billionaire, but she never allowed that to happen.
Instead, she poured money, time, and her voice into the communities around her. Growing up in Sevier County, Parton saw firsthand the lack of resources and opportunities for young people around her. She envisioned a better world, and then worked to make it into a reality. Dolly Parton could have written one large check to a charity of her choosing and still been regarded as a beloved philanthropist. Instead, she took it upon herself to thoughtfully invest in communities, creating infrastructural impacts that will last for generations to come.
3) Impactful change starts with investment in young people.
By 1988, Parton was incredibly famous. That year, she became the first woman to solo host the CMA Awards and won Vocal Event of the Year for her collaborative album Trio. Her focus was not just on music, though. That same year, Dolly Parton founded the Dollywood Foundation in her hometown, with a mission in mind: promoting education for young people in Sevier County. Not only did Parton understand the importance of education to provide young people with opportunities for social mobility, she also understood how to make her goals a reality.
Instead of a one big donation, she focused on community-building and individualized incentives. Parton created a “Buddy Program” that paired up middle school students and promised each a $500 gift if both they and their partner graduated from high school. It worked. As a result of her program, the county’s high school dropout rates fell from 35% to just 6%. Additionally, she gave tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships to deserving high school seniors in Sevier County every year.
One of her most well-known contributions to young people, nationwide and around the world, was her Imagination Library, which was founded in 1995. Parton started the program to honor her father, who couldn’t read or write but was “the smartest man” she knew. The program was simple: Parton wanted to promote literacy among kids no matter their financial means, so she gave them free books every month. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has now given away over 300 million free books to children, and according to the Imagination Library, 1 in 6 American children under the age of 5 is enrolled in Parton’s free book program.
Outside of philanthropy, Dolly Parton gave the world a masterclass in ethical business ownership. In an interview for the 25th Anniversary of her Dollywood theme park, she remarked, "I always thought that if I made it big or got successful at what I had started out to do, that I wanted to come back to my part of the country and do something great, something that would bring a lot of jobs into this area." That is exactly what she did. Dollywood is now Sevier County’s largest employer and has transformed the County from economically depressed to booming with tourist revenue.
Not only did she bring thousands of jobs to locals in her hometown, she paid for each employee’s tuition and school fees if they chose to pursue higher education. Dolly Parton didn’t start businesses to become a billionaire. She started businesses to provide for the communities around her and invest in the future of young people in those communities.
Dolly Parton’s philanthropy visibly helped thousands of young people around the country, but her impact goes far beyond what we can see. Parton challenged systemic inequality and halted generational cycles by investing in youth education, literacy, and futures that were often overlooked. It is evident that her work will affect generations to come.
4) Philanthropy requires trust.
Dolly Parton didn’t just help those in need; she believed in them. When over 900 families in Sevier County lost their homes due to wildfires in 2016, Dolly Parton offered them each $1,000 monthly to recover and rebuild their lives.
Philanthropic organizations have recognized how cash gifts, as opposed to other forms of support, can empower communities. By entrusting families and individuals with cash gifts directly, Parton showed us the importance of treating everyone with dignity and allowing them to make the decisions that are right for them.
Dolly Parton recognized the “goodness of people” and believed that they would thrive if given the resources to do so. One of her very first philanthropic acts was to use her millions in royalties from Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” to invest in Nashville’s Black community. She didn’t claim to have all the answers. Instead, Parton provided financial resources and trusted those she helped to have agency over those resources.
When the internet mourned Dolly Parton as one of the last things America could agree on, it wasn’t because she avoided controversy or stayed away from tough issues. It was because she demonstrated a love for others that knew no boundaries, and she was effective in her benevolence. Dolly Parton exemplified the solution to a widespread debate about the ethics of wealth; she lived luxuriously while always giving back to the communities around her in real, impactful ways. In Parton’s eyes, becoming a billionaire would have been a moral failure. She cared about issues that weren’t flashy or trendy, but that mattered to the communities around her.
If America proclaims Parton was a rare common ground, then it is clear we need to study her legacy. As we move forward in an increasingly divided nation, we need to take these four lessons from Parton and create a world where we can find meaningful connections with people vastly different from us. To do so, we need to learn to see the good in each other and devote ourselves to meaningful change rooted in that belief.