A mural has been erected immortalising Dolly Parton and her stance on the Black Lives Matter movement.
Nashville artist Kim Radford painted the mural outside of East Nashville music venue The 5 Spot. The artist started he work last Thursday, August 13th and upon completion, stumbled across the Parton’s interview with Billboard, where the country darling let her unwavering support for the Black Lives Matter movement be heard.
In her recent Billboard interview, delved into the protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd. According to the magazine, “Parton hasn’t attended any marches, but she is unequivocal in her support of protesters and the Black Lives Matter movement.”
The country legend shared, “I understand people having to make themselves known and felt and seen. And of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little white asses are the only ones that matter? No!”
That quote offered last-minute inspiration to Radford, who decided to add it as a finishing touch to the piece.
“The day before I finished the mural, Dolly had an amazing press release about her upcoming Christmas album and her interview with Billboard. As I painted the final touches I knew her sassy loving quote — ‘Of course Black lives matter. Do we think our little white a–es are the only ones that matter?’ — would be a perfect finish to send out in my neighborhood,” Radford told CNN.
Back in 2018, Dolly Parton renamed her Dixie Stampede dinner attraction to Dolly Parton’s Stampede upon being made aware of the harmful connotations of “Dixie.”
Love Country Music?
Get the latest Country Music news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
“There’s such a thing as innocent ignorance, and so many of us are guilty of that,” she said.
“When they said ‘Dixie’ was an offensive word, I thought, ‘Well, I don’t want to offend anybody. This is a business. We’ll just call it ‘The Stampede’. As soon as you realise that [something] is a problem, you should fix it. Don’t be a dumbass. That’s where my heart is. I would never dream of hurting anybody on purpose.”
