Mayor Ken Adams of Olive Branch, Mississippi, is refusing to lower American flags for Dolly Parton despite directives from both the White House and his own state capitol.
Adams, a Republican who previously served as a DeSoto County judge and spent years as a FedEx executive, posted his defiance on the city’s Facebook page last Friday. The suburb of Memphis, Tennessee, has become a flashpoint in a national argument over who deserves the country’s highest posthumous honor.
“I believe lowering the American flag to half-staff should mean something very significant,” he wrote on the city’s Facebook page.
“In my opinion, it should be reserved for our military heroes, fallen first responders, presidents and other major national leaders, or events that have had a tremendous impact on our country,” Adams continued. “If we lower the flag every time a well-known or beloved person passes away, I believe we eventually lessen the meaning of the gesture.”
The mayor’s stance puts him at odds with both President Trump and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, who each ordered US and state flags flown at half-staff for one week following Parton’s death last Tuesday at age 80. Adams cited Home Rule, which grants Mississippi cities control over their internal affairs, as legal grounding for his decision. He added that mayors should “use our own judgment when appropriate” and make decisions for their own constituents.
Adams took care to praise Parton personally in his post. There was “no question” that the “Jolene” singer was a great person who brought happiness to millions and accomplished “tremendous things” in her life, he wrote. “I have nothing but respect for her,” he said in the post.
The city’s Facebook page was quickly flooded with responses challenging the mayor’s reasoning. Several commenters noted that Olive Branch had previously lowered flags for Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in 2025 and comedian Bob Hope in 2003, undercutting Adams’s argument about reserving the honor only for the most consequential national figures.
“I’d lower it for Dolly before any politician,” one comment read.
“She did more for children than any politician ever has. That should raise her status in your eyes from ‘just a celebrity,'” wrote a second, pointing to Parton’s work delivering 270 million books to children in the US and abroad through her Imagination Library initiative.
Parton’s record of supporting US military service members and her multiple Presidential Medal of Freedom awards — all of which she declined — also featured prominently in the pushback. The country icon died at age 80 last Tuesday, prompting the presidential and gubernatorial orders that Adams has now rejected.
Not every response was hostile. “Honestly i love Dolly Parton and I was a little dismayed when I saw you hadn’t lowered them but at the same time, as a veteran, I understand your point and I agree with you. May Dolly rest in grace,” wrote a third commenter, capturing the divided local reaction.
The flag dispute follows Parton’s death last Tuesday at age 80, which led President Trump and Gov. Reeves to each order American and Mississippi flags flown at half-staff for a full week. The “Jolene” singer and philanthropist had declined multiple Presidential Medal of Freedom offers during her lifetime while building a reputation for supporting US troops and delivering books to millions of children worldwide.
Adams has not indicated any plans to reverse his decision as the week-long mourning period continues.