Dolly Parton, the country music icon whose career spanned more than six decades, died on Aug. 25 after what her family described as "a brief battle with cancer." She was 80. Her family announced her death in a video posted to social media, though they did not specify the cause.
In the wake of her passing, tributes poured in from across the political spectrum. President Donald Trump ordered flags lowered in her honor, writing, "Rest in Peace, Dolly! The World loves you." Democrats and Republicans alike expressed an outpouring of support, reflecting Parton's unusual ability to unite a divided public. As one report noted, her near-universal favor stands in contrast to many cultural icons who have become caught up in the culture wars.
Parton was known for deliberately staying out of politics. She turned down the Presidential Medal of Freedom twice during the first Trump administration, and later said she would not accept the award from the Biden administration because she did not want to appear political.
While much of the initial reaction focused on her musical achievements, the Library of Congress chose to highlight a different aspect of her legacy: her 30-year commitment to improving childhood literacy. In a social media post, the institution said it was "devastated to learn of the passing of @DollyParton, a music legend and titan of children's literacy." The Library of Congress noted that Parton's Imagination Library program had earned multiple Library Literacy Awards, and that in 2018 she visited the institution to donate its 100 millionth book to the collection and host a story time.
Parton founded Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in 1995 in Sevier County, Tennessee, in honor of her late father, who was illiterate. The program donates books once a month to families with children from birth to age 5. Over its 31-year history, it has distributed more than 300 million books, making it one of the world's largest childhood reading initiatives. According to the foundation's About Us page, 14 percent of U.S. children under age 5 now receive a book by mail through the program.
In her 2022 acceptance speech for the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, Parton explained the inspiration behind the initiative: "My dad couldn't read or write, but he was a very smart man, and I often wondered what he could have done had he been able to read and write. So that is the inspiration."
Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear also paid tribute to the program, writing on social media that it sparked "brighter futures for thousands of children across our commonwealth" and would leave a legacy that "will continue for generations to come."
As the world mourns, the memory of Parton's music — and her quiet, decades-long work to put books into the hands of millions of children — continues to resonate across party lines.