Former President Jimmy Carter, a proponent for Black civil rights, dead at 100
President Carter leaves behind a solid record of advancing progress for Black Americans, former administration officials reflect with theGrio.
Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States and longest-lived former commander-in-chief, has died at the age of 100.
In February of this year, Carter made the decision to begin in-home hospice care without further medical treatment for brain cancer. Carter was diagnosed in 2015 and initially recovered from the cancer before it later returned. In November, Carter notably achieved his goal of living long enough to cast his ballot for Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election — though Harris ultimately did not win the election.
President Joe Biden divulged in March that Carter requested that he deliver the eulogy. The pair’s relationship dates back decades as Biden supported Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign when Biden was a young Democratic U.S. Senator for the state of Delaware.
Carter is remembered as a man of faith, a scientist, and a retired naval officer. He also leaves behind a record of advancing progress for Black Americans. President Carter elevated expert thought leaders from the community within his administration and conferred with trusted leaders outside his administration on ways to move forward the efforts of the 1960s Civil Rights movement into the ’70s and beyond.
What many people did not know is that President Carter was closely connected to Martin Luther King Sr., also known as “Daddy King,” and the father of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The senior King, who was said to be a member of Carter’s “kitchen cabinet,” was a close counselor to President Carter. King advised him on ways to advance civil rights for Black Americans, Earnie Green, Carter’s former assistant labor secretary for the U.S. Department of Labor, shared with theGrio exclusively.
During his presidency from 1977 to 1981, Carter worked to implement civil rights-era policies and laws and made a record number of Black appointments to his administration, including the first Black woman to serve on a presidential cabinet, Patricia Harris, who was appointed secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and also served as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
In addition to Green and Harris, Carter appointed Andrew Young as the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Alexis Herman as secretary of the Labor Department’s Woman’s Bureau. Carter also appointed a record number of Black federal judges that has since been eclipsed by President Biden.
Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, recalls that to achieve his goals of advancing Black rights, Carter’s White House relied on civil rights and advocacy organizations like the National Urban League and Operation PUSH while reflecting on President Carter’s legacy with theGrio. The organizations were enlisted to train Black workers and “place them in jobs” as a result of the Civil Rights Act, which Morial said began to “open doors” for Black Americans.
“I was honored when he asked me to come to Washington, D.C., as the director of the Women’s Bureau in the Labor Department, working then for Secretary of Labor Ray Marshall,” Herman told theGrio, reflecting on being the youngest person appointed by Carter at 29. Herman was first introduced to Carter by Ambassador Young, a fellow giant in Georgia politics.
“I moved to Washington from Atlanta, Georgia, and the rest is history, as they say,” said Herman. She continued, “I had the opportunity to work so closely with him when he served as president, as he took such an interest in women’s issues in particular.”
Kurt Schmoke, the former mayor of Baltimore, worked in the Carter White House Office of Public Engagement. He told theGrio exclusively, ”We were inspired by President Carter’s commitment to social change at home and human rights abroad.”
Herman boasted of Carter’s unheralded successes, including a record of “so many firsts that I think he doesn’t get enough credit for.” Carter was also a consequential president who established for the first time a Department of Education, she noted. And in addition to being a proponent for advancing women in the workforce and business, Herman recalled President Carter created first-ever federal daycare centers for federal employees.
“It was Jimmy Carter who advanced the very first women business owners initiative,” said Herman, who served as co-chair and then head of SBA. “Carter issued the very first executive order, the first policy at the federal level that recognized the need for women in business and to encourage that opportunity for women in business.”
“He [built] the foundation that we’re working from now,” said Green, who said as assistant labor secretary he met President Carter about three or four times a month.
Green remembered Carter as a leader who was impactful on issues of race in America. “He was a southern farmer, so he knew the issue and knew the potential of ownership of the land and that…producing it healthwise was very important to the Black community,” he recalled.
In 1977, Carter issued Proclamation 4507 — Black Press Day, becoming the first U.S. president to issue a proclamation recognizing the Black media. Black journalists worked for decades before getting a foothold in the White House, where a mostly white mainstream press had considerably more access.
On Feb. 16, 1977, the Black press was invited to the White House for a day-long session that included lunch and meetings with cabinet officials and a chance to talk with President Carter. Those who attended the session were given copies of the day’s proclamation signed by the president. That same year was the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of Freedom’s Journal, the nation’s first Black newspaper, in 1827.
After his historic four years in the White House, Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter continued their life of service. Until last year, 2022, Carter was still conducting Sunday school classes at his church in Georgia. The former first couple was also known for taking part in building homes through Habitat for Humanity throughout the state.
Reflecting on Carter’s legacy, Mayor Schmoke said, “His service to the country after his term in office deservedly ranks him as one of the country’s greatest ex-presidents.”
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