A statue of Jimmy Carter outside the Georgia Capitol. (Photo: Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)
Flags will be at half-staff across Georgia and the United States for the next month in honor of former President Jimmy Carter, the only U.S. president to hail from Georgia.
Carter died Sunday at 100. His death sparked a wave of fond remembrances across the nation, but nowhere more intensely than in his own state, where he rose in power from a peanut farmer in rural south Georgia to a state senator to Georgia’s 76th governor and eventually the nation’s 39th president.
After losing his re-election bid, Carter returned to Georgia and his hometown of Plains in 1981, and for many Peach State leaders, the work in his remaining decades outshone his time in the Oval Office and cemented his legacy as a man devoted to serving others.
“I know of no man in his post presidency who has had a greater impact on humanity than President Carter,” said Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson, a Lithonia Democrat. “His selfless service to mankind is unparalleled, as was his humbleness and fortitude.”
Carter was a prolific humanitarian, largely through the Atlanta-based Carter Center, an organization he founded with former first lady Rosalynn Carter, which has helped fight diseases and promote human rights and democracy around the world. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts.
He was also heavily involved with Habitat for Humanity, and he would often be seen donning a hard hat and working on job sites well into his later years.
“He exemplified the pragmatic wisdom of a peanut farmer, the work ethic of a homebuilder, and the unyielding faith of a Sunday school teacher,” said Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, a Newington Republican, adding that Carter will “forever be remembered and revered as one of our nation’s finest public servants.”
Congresswoman Nikema Williams, an Atlanta Democrat, said the man who shared the stage with world leaders was also humble and kind.
“My husband, Leslie, and I named our only son, Carter, after this great President,” she said. “I will always remember the time my two-year-old Carter met the former President. After finding a stuffed pig in President Carter’s box of toys, my Carter insisted the former leader of the free world play with him, oinking just like a pig. President Carter obliged with the same kindness he showed throughout his life. I strive every day to make sure my Carter embodies his namesake’s humility and commitment to service.”
Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Jackson Republican, said Carter “exemplified what it means to be a public servant and to put the needs of others before your own.”
“Today, our state, nation and world lost a man who exemplified what it means to be a public servant and to put the needs of others before your own,” Jones said. “Our 39th President represented small towns like Plains, Georgia and never forgot where he and his family came from.”
“President Carter’s legacy will live on in the numerous nonprofits, charities and organizations Rosalynn, his family and him started,” Jones added.
Through the Carter Center, the former president served as a diplomat and helped to mediate disputes between nations, negotiate the release of hostages and oversee elections in countries with histories of disputed results.
Carter said that marrying Rosalynn Carter was the smartest decision he ever made, and people who knew them described the couple as deeply in love, often flirting or holding hands when the news cameras were away.
“As the longest-lived president in history, perhaps his greatest distinction is the happy marriage he enjoyed with First Lady Carter, spanning over 77 years – also the longest of any former president,” said Gov. Brian Kemp in a statement. “Their family continues to be in our prayers as President Carter is reunited with his beloved wife and the world mourns this native Georgian, former state and national leader, and proud peanut farmer from Plains.”
Rosalynn Carter died Nov. 19, 2023 at 96.
Kemp issued a state of emergency Sunday, allowing him to dedicate state resources to assist in security and transportation logistics for a planned ceremony and interment in Plains. Other ceremonies are set to be held in Washington and Atlanta, but a schedule has not yet been announced.
The Carters were devout Christians, and the former president continued to teach Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains for decades, until 2020.
Former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said Carter lived his faith and exemplified the biblical lesson that “faith without works is dead.”
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Baptist preacher, said Carter represented the biblical mandate to care for those in need.
“He got his hands dirty, literally building people’s homes while helping them build their lives. President Carter was a Matthew 25 Christian,” Warnock said. “He believed, as I do, that the true test of your faith is the depth of your commitment to the most marginalized members of the human family. I believe he passed that test and has now graduated into immortality. Democracies around the world are stronger and children across the globe are alive today because of President Carter’s work—what a legacy to leave.”
This report was first published by the Georgia Recorder, which like NC Newsline, is part of the national States Newsroom network.