How Jimmy Carter’s Presidency Helped Mend the Deep-Seated Wounds of Racism
President Jimmy Carter, who passed away on December 29th at 100, will be remembered for various aspects of his life: his agricultural background, his swift political ascent and subsequent single term, and his handling (or mishandling) of the energy crisis and Iran hostage situation.
Another significant, though perhaps less recognized, accomplishment from his early career warrants acknowledgment.
The mid-1970s, when Carter rose to national prominence, marked a period of transition following the progress and setbacks of the previous decade, particularly concerning civil rights. Carter, a multi-generational Georgian, whose family’s history is deeply rooted in the South, readily demonstrated his Southern heritage. However, his views on integration and racial matters differed from many of his contemporaries.
As TIME reported about the then-candidate, his mother, “Miss Lillian,” significantly influenced her children, fostering compassion for all, irrespective of race—despite societal prejudices.
In 1966, Carter lost the Georgia gubernatorial primary to a segregationist. Four years later, he secured the support of some prominent segregationists by compromising: promising to allow George Wallace to speak at the state house if elected. However, after winning, Carter demonstrated his commitment to his principles, as documented by TIME in a 1976 article:
“Elected by a landslide, Carter seemed transformed in office—leading to accusations of misleading voters. His inaugural address declared: “The time for racial discrimination is over. No poor rural white or black person should ever have to bear the additional burden of being deprived of the opportunity of an education, a job or simple justice.” [Segregationist former Governor Lester] Maddox protested vehemently and continually criticized Carter. He even confronted Carter in New Hampshire, denouncing him as “the McGovern of ‘76” and “the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of ‘76.”
Unlike [former governor Carl] Sanders, Carter appointed blacks to all levels of state government. (Sanders later admitted: “Carter is far more liberal than I ever was.”) He established a biracial “disorder unit” to mediate racial conflicts. Since Georgia lacked federal officials to enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Carter appointed all high school principals as registrars to register voters. He reformed state prisons and mental hospitals, which had a disproportionate number of black inmates. He also created drug treatment and daycare centers.
Carter further appealed to black voters through symbolic actions. When black legislators invited him to a gathering, he attended, and word spread quickly about the Governor sharing a meal with the community. In the state capitol in 1974, Carter displayed a portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. alongside other Georgia dignitaries, as an integrated audience sang We Shall Overcome. Many blacks who initially did not support Carter changed their minds. His presidential campaign gained endorsements from figures as diverse as Martin Luther King Sr. and Henry Aaron.“
Indeed, during the presidential primaries, Carter consistently won the African American vote. As TIME observed, “The phenomenon of blacks backing a Southern white reared in the Georgia backwoods is one of the most intriguing aspects of the campaign to date.” While his conciliatory approach, often expressed in spiritual terms, fueled this support, George Wallace’s candidacy as a major opponent also played a role.
This support helped voters overlook instances where Carter’s civil rights record was questionable, such as his fluctuating stance on school busing. During the presidential campaign, Carter also had to clarify what he termed a “careless” remark defending his opposition to legislating neighborhood integration. (His reference to community “purity” evoked historical prejudices for many.) But, as TIME noted when naming him 1976’s Man of the Year, his success “destroyed forever the hopes of Alabama’s George Wallace of rising to national power —a possibility already dimmed by the bullet of a would-be assassin. By showing that a nonracist Southerner could win a major party nomination, Carter gave new pride to his region and went far to heal ancient wounds.”
After his presidency, following a period of relative seclusion, he returned to public life, continuing his commitment to global betterment. In 1989, TIME suggested that he “may be the best former President America has ever had”; in 2002, he received the Nobel Peace Prize.
This shouldn’t surprise those who followed his career. Asked by TIME, shortly before his inauguration, whether the challenges ahead were overwhelming, Jimmy Carter demonstrated the humble dedication that characterized his later decades: “Yes,” he said, “but not so much that I would want someone else to do it.”
Read an interview with Jimmy Carter on the eve of his inauguration:
Read Jimmy Carter’s “Man of the Year” cover story from 1977: