From Dolly Parton-inspired artwork to a community book drive, Ole Miss students celebrated the singer and philanthropist’s legacy through an afternoon centered on creativity, literacy and service on Friday, Sept. 25. A month after Parton’s death, the University of Mississippi’s English and creative writing program, as well as the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies, held events to honor her.
Dolly Day was held on Sept. 25, a play on the title of Parton’s hit song “9 to 5.” Students were invited to create their own “Dolly-of-many-colors” artwork while learning more about the Department of English. The event also collected books for the Lafayette County Literacy Council.
For Eric Soloman, an English and Southern studies professor at the university, the event was a way to celebrate the values that Parton represented while continuing her work to promote literacy.
“(Parton) was about love and kindness and joy and connecting with people across all kinds of backgrounds from all walks of life,” Solomon said.
Parton’s commitment to literacy, particularly through her Imagination Library, also made her an important figure for the department to honor. The program provides free books to children from birth through starting kindergarten.
“We sort of put this together both to honor (Parton) and to try to extend some of the good she did by having a book drive and asking students to think about the importance of reading in their own educations and in helping others,” Solomon said.
Solomon said the event was about starting small, much like Parton did when she began the Imagination Library in honor of her father.
“You can start giving to people, continue to give, and it’ll just grow up,” Soloman said. “I don’t have a set number. I’m just glad to have a few books.”
For students, the event was a chance to step outside their usual routines and meet people they might not otherwise encounter.
Shyann Manner, a biological sciences major from Kossuth, Miss., attended because a friend invited her. Manner said events like Dolly Day are valuable because they give students an opportunity to meet other students outside of their usual circles.
“Everyone getting together and meeting people they’ve never seen before or maybe you don’t have a class with, is just a good connection and time,” Manner said.
The event gave Manner a new perspective on the department.
“It shows they care,” Manner said. “It’s an extra little thing from the English department.”
For Solomon, the goal of Dolly Day was ultimately to reflect Parton’s legacy and spread the same joy, generosity and love of reading that she spent her life promoting.
“If I can just get one student invested in reading and seeing how reading can change their lives, I’ve done my work,” Solomon said.
Kevin Cozart, operations coordinator for the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies, set up another Dolly Day celebration to honor her dedication to the community.
Participants had the opportunity to donate books, nonperishable groceries and monetary donations to the Lafayette High School or Oxford High School bands or theater departments to give back to the community.
Volunteers collected donations in Lamar Hall while screening “Steel Magnolias,” an American comedy/drama featuring Parton.
“This movie, for generations, has really reflected the bonds between women in the South and the importance of friendship between women and how they become support centers for each other and all of the emotions that different women experience,” Cozart said.
For Cozart, Parton’s influence extended beyond the characters she portrayed. Her public life offered another example of how she used her platform while remaining connected to the culture that shaped her.
“There are a lot of stereotypes about the South and Southerners and stuff, and she never fought against (stereotypes) but she never countered them either,” Cozart said. “(Parton was) demonstrating her kindness, her business smarts, but she was never not vocal about supporting and loving all people.”
That combination of personal values and public action became an important part of how Cozart viewed Parton’s legacy, particularly as more of her charitable work came into focus.
“She was the epitome of (service), and then all that I have learned about since her passing just builds on that legacy of service, charity and that kind of stuff,” Cozart said.
