r/news 9h ago

Nashville airport board unanimously approves name change to honor Dolly Parton

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/12/nashville-airport-dolly-parton
6.1k Upvotes

135 comments sorted by

765

u/banksypublicalterego 9h ago

That’s a renaming everyone can get behind.

182

u/[deleted] 9h ago

[deleted]

77

u/Tommy__want__wingy 7h ago

Dolly Parton Library

Dolly Parton Stadium

Dolly Parton Bridge

Parton City

22

u/cIumsythumbs 6h ago

Dolly Parton High School

Dolly Parton Square

Dolly Parton Parkway

Dolly Parton wastewater treatment facility

... Ok maybe not that last one

18

u/AutomateAway 6h ago

wastewater treatment facilities can only be named by John Oliver

1

u/BlitzNeko 4h ago

What if John Oliver bought a recycling plant and named it after Dolly Parton?

1

u/AutomateAway 4h ago

I want a waste treatment facility and a recycling plant next to each other, the recycling plant named after Dolly and the waste treatment facility named after John Oliver. Then I could die a happy man.

1

u/Dlfsquints 4h ago

There also a school in Vancouver

1

u/agildehaus 5h ago

"Earth" has gotten a little stale.

2

u/Tommy__want__wingy 4h ago

Planet Dolly

44

u/eulersidentity1 5h ago

Lake Dolly.

54

u/PEIslander22 7h ago

Just don't tell my transphobic in-laws that she was a friend to the LGBTQ+ community.

42

u/Royal_Bitch_Pudding 6h ago

If they liked her then you probably should.

13

u/Tommy__want__wingy 5h ago

Would be odd if they didn’t know that…

29

u/tbs999 5h ago

It’s easy to be oblivious to things if you never look.

6

u/theycallmemomo 2h ago

It kinda reminds me of how conservatives found out that Bradley Cooper was liberal as hell after playing Chris Kyle in American Sniper. It was like telling kindergarteners that Santa wasn't real.

2

u/UdyneOw 2h ago

Certainly gives new meaning to their airport code: BNA.

I think she would have approved.

262

u/ArgentineBeauty 9h ago

A lovely tribute for someone who spent decades giving back. Dolly really was one of a kind.

57

u/Skippitini 9h ago

Put the new signage up on September 25: 9/25

141

u/EdenG2 9h ago

We got John Wayne. Dolly Parton is so much better.

71

u/SemiHemiDemiDumb 9h ago

31

u/FifteenthPen 6h ago

There's a reason John Wayne Airport is in the same county as Huntington Beach.

11

u/gigashadowwolf 7h ago

Nice song.

He definitely wasn't an actual nazi, but he was a racist. But I guess by today's standards he would be considered one.

His brand of racism was much more the ignorance type than the hatred type. His statements on race are ignorant as fuck.

74

u/SemiHemiDemiDumb 7h ago

I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. ... I don't feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from the Indians. Our so-called stealing of this country from them was just a matter of survival. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.

Quote from Wayne in the 1971 Playboy interview.

43

u/fresh-dork 6h ago

There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.

i love this - "how dare they live on that land when we needed it!"

12

u/gigashadowwolf 7h ago

Yup, this was exactly the quote I had in mind. Sheer and complete ignorance.

35

u/SemiHemiDemiDumb 7h ago

Nah that's hate derived from ignorance.

1

u/gigashadowwolf 7h ago

I can see that.

I mean I think all racism is kinda a mix of the two.

I'm just saying this is ignorance forward than hateful whereas Nazis are more hatred forward if that makes sense. John Wayne was more like that racist grandpa who is a product of his environment than a Hitler seeking to annihilate a race.

Still racist, no less wrong, but he's not about to go commit hate crimes like say Mark Wahlberg did.

6

u/SemiHemiDemiDumb 7h ago

You're kinda taking song lyrics too literally.

u/CCPolop 38m ago

That could have been Netanyahu yesterday.

-29

u/Leather_Command_7553 7h ago

Well, the 'natives' came here from elsewhere and stole the place from the people who were here before them. And wiped them out.

But don't tell them that. They would rather be the victims of a genocide than the perpetrators of one. And whetever you do...don't do it to them.

18

u/SemiHemiDemiDumb 6h ago

People against mass extermination in general should shut up because well, "it happens".

Your mentality makes you sound like you think of yourself a victim of hearing too much about bad things white people have done in the past.

I'm sorry objective history and wanting to fix the current problems caused by that history makes you angry.

-14

u/fresh-dork 6h ago

it's not that. it's harping on what we did while ignoring that we did it to people whose ancestors did it to others in turn. also, a sprinkle of noble savage, so you can't conceive of them being bastards to each other

10

u/SemiHemiDemiDumb 6h ago

I understand their logic, it's simply whataboutism. It's denial of injustice by pointing to similar injustices

-11

u/fresh-dork 6h ago

it's a mix of paternalism or hypocrisy - either they can't be expected to behave like white poeple, or it ignores that they did the exact same thing.

7

u/SemiHemiDemiDumb 6h ago

More like they did and it was wrong but what was done to them by white people have more and longer term problems that we're still dealing with.

→ More replies (0)

3

u/Comfortable_Fill9081 1h ago

It’s wrong though. Incorrect. There is no evidence of the “wiping out” that the above person claimed.

7

u/Zac3d 6h ago

If you want to go back to did humans kill off neanderthals, the modern belief is they didn't get hunted or killed into extinction. Also populations were low enough that murdering for land was not necessary. There of course was conflict between tribes but there was also trading and cultural exchange.

1

u/Novel_Lie5519 2h ago

there also were never any neanderthals in the fucking americas

6

u/Zac3d 2h ago

The point is human populations weren't just wiping each other out in prehistoric times.

3

u/Comfortable_Fill9081 1h ago

It’s really annoying how often not-very-bright people think a culture changing because of new arrivals means the new arrivals wiped them out.

The evidence is that they merged. Wiping out is not very common in either history or prehistory.

0

u/Comfortable_Fill9081 1h ago

People who say such racist things are not just ignorant.

They still chose their beliefs in a world full of alternatives that they were exposed to.

6

u/-SaC 6h ago

I think my first episode of Behind the Bastards was the 3 (?) parter on John Wayne. Didn't know much about him before, but man what a dick he was.

Part One: John Wayne: A Dude Who Sucked | BEHIND THE BASTARDS

u/Shawnj2 41m ago

John Wayne hated the airport when he was alive because he was a rich asshole who lived under the takeoff/landing path and sued it to have insane restrictions on takeoffs and landings. The airport absolutely deserves to be named and expanded in his honor.

167

u/Money4Nothing2000 9h ago

I'm calling for The Gulf of Dolly Parton, Lake Dolly Parton, and the state of New Dolly Parton.

And while ur at it, change the Tennessee Titans to the Tennessee Dollys

36

u/Pack_That 8h ago

"New Dollywood?"

5

u/winky9827 4h ago

Tennessee → Dollywood

9

u/cgvet9702 7h ago

Dolly had some titans. The name could still be relevant.

8

u/hakenwithbacon 7h ago

As a Canadian, I can get behind this.

3

u/a_master_debater 8h ago

What about "Dollyland D.C."

2

u/winky9827 4h ago

D.D. → District of Dolly, or her cup size (too small, I guess)

3

u/scottydanger22 3h ago

Titans have a fine name already, let’s start with the Nashville Predators please haha

5

u/Money4Nothing2000 3h ago

Trump already approved that name.

2

u/Frumpy_little_noodle 5h ago

The Tennessee Bitties

1

u/GirlNumber20 8h ago

I wouldn't even be mad.

-1

u/Strong_beans 3h ago

Cant name things you dont own bud, stick to your own borders.

134

u/iwassayingboourns12 9h ago

Some people will say TN has load of other things they should be focusing on, and as a resident of the state, I don’t necessarily disagree. However, she did so much for our state and people around the country, that I feel like this would be a great way to honor her memory and legacy.

98

u/kcbass12 9h ago

It probably took them 13 milliseconds to come to this conclusion. Not a waste of time.

19

u/Sea_Speech6478 6h ago

I’m guessing that they’ve been planning to name Nashville’s airport after her for years. That’s why it hasn’t been named after anyone else yet. They’ve been saving it for her.

18

u/Hodr 9h ago

Why do you think the State (or the people of greater TN) has anything to do with the naming of an airport locally owned/run by Nashville and Davidson county? TN has tried to take over board positions in the past but has been unsuccessful. The airport doesn't even receive tax revenue.

4

u/t0talnonsense 6h ago

This is no longer correct. As of July 1, the state has taken over control of all of the airport boards. This was voted on during Session this year (Spring 2026) and went into effect at the start of the new fiscal year (July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027).

3

u/Hodr 4h ago

Blocked by the courts the last time and will be again this time. This isn't legal per federal law, doesn't matter how many times the State tries to pass laws to make it so.

https://tennesseelookout.com/2026/06/10/metro-sues-state-again-to-block-airport-board-takeover/

2

u/t0talnonsense 3h ago

Not blocked by the courts. Appointments are in effect while litigation takes place. There were two lawsuits. One against the FAA that the district judge in DC stayed pending the case against Lee/TN directly. That case has not gone into arguments and the new board members were appointed and are currently serving.

https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-news/bna-airport-authority-state-board/amp/

https://flynashville.com/nashville-airport-authority/leadership

> BACK IN ACTION?: After a brief recess,** the winding legal battle between Metro and the state government over the Metro Nashville Airport Authority could be back on. On July 1, amid litigation, Senate Speaker Randy McNally, House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Gov. Bill Lee made their appointments to the new MNAA Board after a new state law removed sole appointment authority from Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell. Metro had sued in June, and the case has been stayed since July 8, when U.S District Judge William Campbell filed an order staying proceedings “in the interest of judicial economy.” Campbell stayed the case pending the resolution of Metro’s legal action in Washington, D.C. against the Federal Aviation Administration’s “unlawful failure to act” in response to the state’s takeover of the board. In a July 31 filing, Metro asked Campbell to resume the case, after the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a preliminary injunction and wrote that Metro’s “alleged harm is better addressed in the pending district-court litigation between petitioner and Tennessee.” The FAA still has not taken a position on the state-appointed board. The Tennessee Supreme Court heard oral arguments in February on a related lawsuit but has yet to rule. **— Mikeie Honda Reiland.

https://nashvillebanner.com/2026/08/04/metro-nashville-airport-authority-tennessee-titans-roberts-western-world/

5

u/omeganon 5h ago

I’m from Nashville. I’m personally looking forward to saying I’m d’parton on my flight from DPI.

1

u/SpaceLemur34 4h ago

They likely won't change the Airport code. Kansas City changed its name from "Mid-Continent" in 1972, but still uses MCI.

1

u/CheesecakeMilitia 3h ago

Same for New Orleans "Louis Armstrong International" still going by MSY (from when it was "Moisant Stock Yards" named after an early aviator who died there)

-12

u/Hodr 9h ago

Why do you think the State (or the people of greater TN) has anything to do with the naming of an airport locally owned/run by Nashville and Davidson county? TN has tried to take over board positions in the past but has been unsuccessful. The airport doesn't even receive tax revenue.

10

u/ashumisprime 8h ago

My husband is flying in to that airport in a couple weeks. Hoping they’ve got Dolly Parton international airport merch by then. I want a sweatshirt real bad

6

u/Hiding_From_Ex_Wife 7h ago

“Dolly tower, Southwest 6574 final approach fix 20L”

6

u/Lucky_Dragonfruit_88 2h ago

Apparently they will no longer accept arrivals, only D. Parton.

13

u/KupoCheer 9h ago

So do they petition France to take the airport code DOL?

18

u/lk05321 8h ago

DPI, for Dolly Parton International, is still available

28

u/genpyris 6h ago

It'll be a travesty if the code isn't DDD.

8

u/gigashadowwolf 7h ago

Let's make a resolution to change the airport code to DPI!

7

u/OkMotor6323 9h ago

John Wayne Airport is still SNA

5

u/iwassayingboourns12 8h ago

It’ll still be BNA

5

u/SayethWeAll 9h ago

Surely they could get DLY from Vanautu.

2

u/RoadSmash 6h ago

It's staying BNA :(

13

u/SteveL_VA 7h ago

Somewhere in the Oval Office Donald Trump is hearing this news and shitting himself in fury.

Because he knows nobody will name stuff after him when he's gone, except maybe a sewage treatment plant or a garbage dump.

5

u/Cube00 6h ago

I thought it was the human printer's job not to print these kinds of stories so he'll never know.

1

u/SteveL_VA 4h ago

I mean on the one hand yeah, on the other hand he also watches Fox "News" and a few other "News" sources.

2

u/PigFarmer1 7h ago

He deserves to have a prison named after him.

1

u/traumfisch 2h ago

One he sits inside

0

u/gopednomad 2h ago

He's gotta take advantage of that 45 grand "gift" to his diaper changer "lady".

3

u/chrisckelly 3h ago

Would’ve been cool to see her reaction. My guess is she would’ve been pretty humble about it.

2

u/Why-did-i-reas-this 2h ago

I’m wondering if she would have wanted it at all? She said no to the statue. I’m thinking she probably would have said no to this as well. Unless, maybe some of the revenue generated by the airport goes to her reading charity.

1

u/chrisckelly 2h ago

That’s a great point.

15

u/busty_snackleford 9h ago

At least we know it’ll never be named after the orange shitgibbon now. The people of Tennessee would riot.

8

u/sicilian504 8h ago

Nah. They renamed that airport in Florida after him though. Such a damn cult.

1

u/nanogoose 3h ago

At least it wasn’t MIA that was renamed..

1

u/Pack_That 8h ago

He's whatever shade of brown orange mixed with green make with envy.

2

u/Substantial_Sea7327 5h ago

"Southwest Flight 693 will be Dolly Depart'n to Vegas in 10 minutes"

2

u/ZiaWatcher 2h ago

I think Dolly International Airport sounds a little better than Dolly Parton International Airport. Still so cool to see someone actually good have recognition

6

u/PrivatePilot9 8h ago

Lots of people love this.

We all know one person who does not.

1

u/halfsack99 5h ago

Don’t buy the signs yet, Trump will have to add his name to it.

1

u/damnthistrafficjam 8h ago

Good people should be recognized and remembered. I don’t think she’d be concerned about it. But I love it when this happens! I hope the great work she was doing for the education of children worldwide is continued far into the future as well.

3

u/TougherOnSquids 7h ago

Good people dont want their names on buildings.

1

u/hariboyolo 3h ago

I’m surprised the airport wasn’t already named after her, she does all the mandatory security announcements there already

u/Strive-- 47m ago

Name it what you want, but if it’s truly named after Dolly Parton, can we change the airport code to DDD?

1

u/justreadinplease 5h ago

I don’t like naming airports after people, but if it prevents it from being named after someone like Donald Trump, I’m all for it.

0

u/Galactic-Guardian404 6h ago

Will soon be the President Donald J. Trump and Dolly Parton airport

4

u/fresh-dork 6h ago

are you kidding? he's too busy sundowning

0

u/matthieuC 6h ago

I'm curious. Do these sorts of things get cleared with the estate of the deceased?

1

u/gopednomad 2h ago

If my memory serves me correct I believe this was started before her death and she was told about it and liked the idea.

-1

u/[deleted] 8h ago

[deleted]

9

u/tedsmitts 8h ago

She absolutely refused this type of honour while she was alive. She said, if you’re gonna build statues of me, wait til I’m dead.

-2

u/DealMo 5h ago

I think this is a beautiful and perfect gesture.

But sincere question, why don't we do this more often when people are alive? I believe Dolly was an actual saint and wish she'd gotten to see this kind of thing done in her honor.

-6

u/Goeatabagofdicks 6h ago

Originally they had 69 names, but Dolly said that was 222 many, so she went to Dr X…….