by Dr. E. Faye Williams
(Trice Edney Wire) — We’ve lost a lot of people who did work we didn’t know about. In the last few days, we lost Dolly Parton. How many knew about the great things she did? We knew she allowed Whitney Houston to give us her version of “I Will Always Love You.”
Only after Dolly’s passing did the world know what she did with her royalties from Whitney’s version. She gave the royalties to honor Whitney by investing in the Black community. With her royalties from Whitney’s recording of Dolly’s song, she invested them in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Nashville. She bought a commercial complex there and later called it “The House that Whitney Built.” She acknowledged that a Black woman’s extraordinary voice had created enormous wealth from her song, and that some of that wealth should return to the Black community.
Much of this effort reached poor Black families and other communities of color. Her gifts addressed the inequities that follow people from the cradle and beyond. Her philanthropy is only now becoming widely known. She paid for band uniforms and other needs at Tennessee high schools. Her foundation awarded college scholarships, and an early initiative promised 7th and 8th graders $500 if they completed high school. The dropout rate fell from 35 percent to 6 percent! When some were being critical of Black Lives Matter, it was Dolly who offered one of the clearest statements about Black Lives Matter made by any White entertainer—especially the country music industry. She made it clear that to her Black Lives Matter.
She donated to COVID challenges that disproportionately killed Black Americans, and later gave $1 million for pediatric infectious-disease research. A Black journalist said Dolly made a choice to be a humanitarian and true Christian. She never backed away from putting clarity to the fact that Black people are human beings.
Beyonce said Dolly was an artist whose generosity she praised and said her individuality made her “truly one of one.” They collaborated on Beyonce’s delve into country music and she agreed that ”Dolly made a choice to be a humanitarian. She lived a life that NEVER made you question her heart and ideology on the humanity of Black people. This is why so many of us appreciate her and celebrate her life.” She went on to call Parton “the barometer” and “the North Star,” describing her as an artist whose generosity and individuality made her “truly one of one.” Beyonce and Dolly collaborated on “Cowboy Carter,” where Beyonce explored country music’s Black roots.
Despite achieving global superstardom, accumulating a vast fortune and reaching larger-than-life status in an industry that struggles with diversity, Dolly was embraced by the Black community. When her family announced her death a wide range of Black icons noted her passing. They included President Barack Obama, who honored her by saying,“Born in a one-room cabin, she earned 11 Grammys and an Emmy, built a business empire, and helped millions of kids learn to read.”
She was once called “a White person who ‘got it’”— someone who not only saw and understood Black America but also empathized with the people and tried to help.
So many White people are trying to erase us from history, but Dolly embraced Black artists, spoke plainly against racism, distributed millions of books that helped countless Black children read.She treated Black people and culture not as something outside her world, but as part of it.
Dolly said, following the murder of George Floyd, “Of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little white (word for rear ends) are the only ones that matter?
Her generosity is worth repeating. She paid for band uniforms and other needs at Tennessee high schools. Her foundation awarded college scholarships, and promised 7th- and 8th-graders $500 if they completed high school. Many who might not have otherwise done so, were successful! Thank you Dolly.
