RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. The mayor of a small Mississippi town is in the spotlight after pushing back against lowering flags in honor of Dolly Parton .
Ken Adams, the mayor of Olive Branch, which has an approximate population of 47,000, said in a post on Facebook that lowering the flag to half-mast 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.”
“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,” he said.
President Donald Trump ordered U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff nationwide for a full seven days in honor of Parton’s life.
This in turn granted the country-music trailblazer a longer national mourning period than some prominent figures close to the president including the late Senator Lindsey Graham and conservative activist Charlie Kirk .
Parton, whose songwriting, voice and larger‑than‑life persona shaped American culture for more than six decades, d ied at the age of 80 on August 25, her nephew announced Tuesday in an Instagram video.
Her death has prompted global tributes from across the political spectrum, the entertainment industry and beyond. The collective grief and honoring of the philanthropist and musical icon reflected a rare level of bipartisan admiration for an artist whose appeal transcended politics, geography and generations.
Newsweek has contacted the mayor's office for comment via email outside of standard working hours.
Adams is the mayor of Olive Branch, a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, just south of Memphis, Tennessee. Before entering municipal politics, Adams served as a DeSoto County judge and worked for years as a leader at FedEx.
He was elected mayor of Olive Branch in 2021.
As mayor, Adams has emphasized local decision-making and conservative principles of municipal governance.
Olive Branch municipal elections are formally nonpartisan, but local coverage at the time described Adams as a Republican candidate.
In his post, Adams said he had “nothing but respect” for Parton.
He said that there should be room for local government in these decisions and said that mayors should make decisions for their cities, while the president makes decisions for the country and governors make decisions for the state.
“This isn’t about disrespecting Dolly Parton. It isn’t about politics. And it certainly isn’t about saying she wasn’t a great American,” he said.
Though he made his opposition to the move clear, he did not specify whether he would ignore the order.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes and Trevor Davies
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