Armand Jackson
Former President Jimmy Carter celebrated his 98th birthday on October 1st with family and friends in his tiny home town of Plains in Georgia. Being the oldest living former president, Carter’s life and legacy as an advocate for humanitarian causes is looked at more fondly today in comparison to when he left office in 1981. Even before his humanitarian endeavors, Carter has been praised for his life in servitude to others as Georgia’s state senator and governor, then as the 39th president of the United States.
The many things Jimmy Carter accomplished throughout his life includes; mediating negotiations to produce the Camp David Accords in 1978; creating the Carter Center which among its many humanitarian accomplishments fought to end the tropical Guinea Worm Disease; being honored by Habitat for Humanity; being one of five activists from around the world to receive the United Nations’ Human Rights Prize in 1998; receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999; and receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
Former President Bill Clinton when presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom said: “Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter have done more good things for more people in more places than any other couple on the face of the Earth.” The Nobel Peace Prize recognized Carter’s “untiring effort” to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts and promote democracy and human rights in the two decades since he left the White House.” The Carter Center, the nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by the former president, celebrates with a weeklong, virtual celebration of his life dedicated to service and making the world a better place.
Chief executive officer of The Carter Center, Paige Alexander, speaks fondly of Jimmy Carter with the statement: “As the longest-living president in U.S. history, President Jimmy Carter has had a remarkable life of service that deserves worldwide celebration, whether here in Georgia or in hard-to-reach regions around the world, millions of people have benefited from President Carter’s commitment to making the world a better place.” The Center allows people to commemorate the former president’s 98th birthday by sending him a congratulatory message.
