Jimmy Carter and Civil Rights
For a southernor and the descendent of a Confederate soldier, Jimmy Carter was not the stereotypical southern redneck. He was a devout Christian who was influenced at an early age by a sermon he heard entitled "if you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" He understood and applied the message of "love one another" to persons of all races and colour and carried that over into his politics.
When Jimmy Carter became Governor of Georgia in 1971, he declared in his inaugural speech that the time of racial segregation was over, and that racial discrimination had no place in the future of the state. This was the first time that a Governor from the Deep South had said something like this publicly. Afterwards, Carter appointed many African Americans to statewide boards and offices. The media called him one of the "New Southern Governors" – much more moderate than their predecessors, and supportive of racial desegregation and expanding African-Americans' rights.
Although personally opposed to abortion, Governor Carter supported women's right to legalized abortion. However as President he did not support increased federal funding for abortion services and was criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union for not doing enough to find alternatives.
Although he was once a supporter of the death penalty, Carter became a death penalty opponent. Currently, Carter is known for his outspoken opposition to the death penalty in all forms. For example when he received the Nobel Peace Prize, in his Nobel lecture he strongly urged prohibition of the death penalty. Carter continues to speak out against the death penalty in the US and abroad. A few years ago, in a letter to the Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, Carter urged him to sign a bill to eliminate the death penalty and institute life in prison without parole instead. Carter wrote:
"As you know, the United States is one of the few countries, along with nations such as Saudi Arabia, China, and Cuba, which still carry out the death penalty despite the ongoing tragedy of wrongful conviction and gross racial and class-based disparities that make impossible the fair implementation of this ultimate punishment."
Carter also called for commutations of death sentences for many death-row inmates, including Brian K. Baldwin (executed in 1999 in Alabama), Kenneth Foster (sentence in Texas commuted in 2007) and Troy Anthony Davis (executed in Georgia in 2011).
In a 2008 interview with Amnesty International, Carter criticized the alleged use of torture at Guantanamo Bay, saying that it "contravenes the basic principles on which this nation was founded." He stated that the next President should publicly apologize upon his inauguration, and state that the United States will "never again torture prisoners."
Carter caused a controversy in September 2009 when he told a reporter "I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he is African-American." Obama disagreed with Carter's assessment. On CNN Obama stated, "Are there people out there who don't like me because of race? I'm sure there are...that's not the overriding issue here."
By the time Carter became president, much of the heavy lifting had already been done in the area of racial desegregation. But I think that if Carter had been elected at an earlier time in history, his strong personal beliefs and strength of character would have propelled him into becoming a leader in this field. Whether he would have had the ability to convince Congress to join him in that ride is another matter.
When Jimmy Carter became Governor of Georgia in 1971, he declared in his inaugural speech that the time of racial segregation was over, and that racial discrimination had no place in the future of the state. This was the first time that a Governor from the Deep South had said something like this publicly. Afterwards, Carter appointed many African Americans to statewide boards and offices. The media called him one of the "New Southern Governors" – much more moderate than their predecessors, and supportive of racial desegregation and expanding African-Americans' rights.
Although personally opposed to abortion, Governor Carter supported women's right to legalized abortion. However as President he did not support increased federal funding for abortion services and was criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union for not doing enough to find alternatives.
Although he was once a supporter of the death penalty, Carter became a death penalty opponent. Currently, Carter is known for his outspoken opposition to the death penalty in all forms. For example when he received the Nobel Peace Prize, in his Nobel lecture he strongly urged prohibition of the death penalty. Carter continues to speak out against the death penalty in the US and abroad. A few years ago, in a letter to the Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, Carter urged him to sign a bill to eliminate the death penalty and institute life in prison without parole instead. Carter wrote:
"As you know, the United States is one of the few countries, along with nations such as Saudi Arabia, China, and Cuba, which still carry out the death penalty despite the ongoing tragedy of wrongful conviction and gross racial and class-based disparities that make impossible the fair implementation of this ultimate punishment."
Carter also called for commutations of death sentences for many death-row inmates, including Brian K. Baldwin (executed in 1999 in Alabama), Kenneth Foster (sentence in Texas commuted in 2007) and Troy Anthony Davis (executed in Georgia in 2011).
In a 2008 interview with Amnesty International, Carter criticized the alleged use of torture at Guantanamo Bay, saying that it "contravenes the basic principles on which this nation was founded." He stated that the next President should publicly apologize upon his inauguration, and state that the United States will "never again torture prisoners."
Carter caused a controversy in September 2009 when he told a reporter "I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he is African-American." Obama disagreed with Carter's assessment. On CNN Obama stated, "Are there people out there who don't like me because of race? I'm sure there are...that's not the overriding issue here."
By the time Carter became president, much of the heavy lifting had already been done in the area of racial desegregation. But I think that if Carter had been elected at an earlier time in history, his strong personal beliefs and strength of character would have propelled him into becoming a leader in this field. Whether he would have had the ability to convince Congress to join him in that ride is another matter.