By Woodrow Keown Jr., President, Freedom Center
Upon the passing of President Jimmy Carter, we reflect on a life dedicated to good and kindness, human dignity and equity. President Carter was a gentle man, even in the cruelest times. He was a man who, despite his era and geography, came to stand up for civil rights and spoke out against segregation and racial discrimination. The Georgia farmer applauded the 1965 passage of the Civil Rights Act, memorialized the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., and expanded a voice and platform for LGBTQ+ rights.
During his presidency – as turmoil gripped southeast and southwest Asia, large swaths of Africa and at the fringes of the Soviet Union – President Carter appealed for peace.
During the longest post-presidency in our nation’s history, President Carter devoted his life to improving communities – within the United States and globally. He is well known and rightly celebrated for his work with Habitat for Humanity, through which he helped build over 4,400 houses in 14 countries. He also worked to eradicate infectious diseases around the globe, increase access to mental health resources and protect human rights through his Carter Center. He and the Carter Center also served as election observers for over 120 elections in 40 countries, protecting the foundational democratic right that each citizen has an equal voice.
President Carter articulated a role of government we feel is necessary to remind ourselves of: …in every person there is something fine and pure and noble, along with a desire for self-fulfillment. Political and religious leaders must attempt to provide a society within which these human attributes can be nurtured and enhanced.
As we remember a century of President Carter’s civil and civic service, a life dedicated to improving the lives and communities of those around him, let us pursue a society that nurtures what is fine, pure and noble in each of us.
Feature Image: Carter is survived by his four children, numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and a legacy of public service that transformed lives around the globe. He will be buried next to Rosalynn under a willow tree near a pond he helped dig in Plains. Photo provided