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Jimmy Carter at 100 – a lifetime of advancing human equality by peaceful democratic means

John Stremlau
By John Stremlau
30 Sep 2024
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Jimmy Carter grew up under conditions of strict racial segregation in Georgia, and when he became president he applied the moral lessons learned in US politics in trying to end white minority rule in southern Africa.

Jimmy Carter turns 100 on 1 October 2024.  Celebrations at The Carter Center have been under way, emphasising his decades-long efforts to help others before and during his presidency (1977-1981), and in his four decades as the founder and chairperson of The Carter Center, for which he was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Carter, who has been in hospice care since February 2023, reportedly told his son Chip Carter in August that his birthday was not as important as living long enough to vote for Kamala Harris on 5 November.

Carter’s rationale was summarised by his grandson and successor as chairperson of The Carter Center, Jason Carter (49), in remarks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on 20 August. Grandfather and grandson, who I came to know and admire personally while heading the Carter Center’s Peace Programmes (2006-2015), share a deep interest in advancing human equality by peaceful democratic means.

They are of different generations, and their respective experiences in struggles to advance and sustain progress in securing liberal democracy reflect this. Legacies of white nationalism in America and South Africa illustrate different generational challenges. 

Jimmy Carter grew up under conditions of strict racial segregation in Georgia, and when president, applied the moral lessons learned in US politics in trying to end white minority rule in southern Africa. He told me he spent more time brokering negotiations to end white minority rule in southern Africa than he spent trying to build a foundation for peace in the Middle East.  

But early in his single term in office he concluded, based on now declassified memoranda and analyses available in the Carter Presidential Library that I have read, that a peaceful transition to majority rule in South Africa was not yet possible.

Majority rule


So Carter focused instead on securing majority rule in what became Zimbabwe and Namibia.  By the time I joined his centre, his hero was Nelson Mandela, to who he paid tribute in his writing about human rights  and as an original member of The Elders, which Mandela formed in 2007.

Grandson Jason was introduced to Mandela by his grandfather, and the elder Carter recounted how the young man used Zulu in conversing with Mandela, which he learned, along with Siswati, as a Peace Corps volunteer.  Jason later wrote a compelling book, Power Lines: Two Years on South Africa’s Borders, about South Africa to inform the publics in both countries about the perspectives of rural peoples regarding the promises and perils of democracy.

Jimmy and Jason, I believe, would share an enthusiasm about South Africa’s current Government of National Unity, or GNU. Each, in his own way, have sought to promote non-partisan consensus for non-racialism and values rooted in the universal value of inherent human equality. 

As president, Jimmy Carter had to balance the US national interests that drove Cold War foreign policy, but as Nancy Mitchell shows in her monumental book Jimmy Carter in Africa: Race and the Cold War, he prioritised in southern Africa the ways and means to advance racial justice.

And his grandson, as chairperson of The Carter Center, has approved for the first time non-partisan election observation of voting in crucial swing states, notably Fulton County, Georgia, in US presidential elections, including this year’s critical vote between Vice-President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump.

Vital stakes


Both Carters know that South Africa and Africa also have vital stakes in the outcome of America’s 5 November 2024 presidential election. Trump, in his first term in office, in my view, paid little attention to Africa (Stremlau J, Chapter 13 “South and Sub-Saharan Africa: International Perspectives on Donald J Trump’s Presidency” pp. 397-423).

Trump’s possible second term portends more neglect and worse, especially for South Africa, according to the analysis done for The 2025 Presidential Transition Project (Project 2025) by former Trump Administration officials and others under the auspices of the Heritage Foundation. 

Max Primorac, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, prepared a long paper titled “Time to Cut US Foreign Aid to South Africa” that recommends excluding South Africa from benefiting from its membership in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) and a host of bi-lateral and multilateral agreements in development, education, health and other areas. He estimates the US provided more than $6-billion in direct assistance to the people and government between 2012 and 2021.

Climate change


Little wonder that the Carters, in addition to their fear that Trump could derail America’s own democratic experiment, are also concerned about the damage he could do to US-Africa policies, including on climate change. 

They have, as noted, deep personal concerns about the future of the bilateral partnership with South Africa that was restored during the Biden Administration. This relationship was, in fact, highlighted by Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola during his recent visit to Washington.

Jimmy Carter had his centennial birthday on 1 October 2024, but his indomitable spirit for service throughout his public and private life inspires the hope that he will vote in at least one more election of consequence for the future of liberal democracy in America and abroad.

He has handed his public duties to a younger generation, exemplified by his grandson Jason, with joy and hope for the future. And together they remind us that democracies, whether in America or Africa, must commit to the pursuit of human equality as the only reliable route to freedom and dignity for all. DM

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