Much of former president Jimmy Carter’s legacy was forged after his time in the White House.
“The idea was to be able to focus on the things that matter to him—human rights, conflict resolution, alleviating suffering. That’s how the Carter Center was built,” says Paige Alexander, the center’s CEO.
For more than 40 years, the Atlanta-based Carter Center has championed human rights, resolved conflicts, and tackled global health crises—work that continues to honor the Carters’ legacy of quiet diplomacy and service.
Alexander sat down with GPB’s Pamela Kirkland to discuss how the center is continuing its mission in the wake of President Carter’s passing.
TRANSCRIPT
Pamela Kirkland: I want to start with the original mission of the Carter Center. Some 40 years ago, Jimmy Carter wanted to continue having an impact globally, and this center was born out of that. What was the vision for the center some 40 years ago, and what has the Carter Center achieved since then?
Paige Alexander In 1982, as President and Mrs. Carter like to say, when they were involuntarily retired from the White House, they had an opportunity to continue to do the work that they had wanted to do and finish up in the White House. And so, by establishing the Carter Center here in Atlanta, he wanted to create kind of a mini-Camp David. And the idea was to be able to focus on the things that mattered to him: human rights, conflict resolution, alleviating suffering. And so that’s how the Carter Center was built. So we’re here on over 30 acres in Freedom Park, and we have for 40 years hosted world leaders and tried to solve problems and — and create space for people to have conversations.
Pamela Kirkland: President Carter’s commitment to human rights and diplomacy are a cornerstone of his legacy. How has the center continued to champion that work?
Paige Alexander: President Carter always spoke the truth and he wanted to be of service to people. And so when the Carter Center was created, and we spent time traveling overseas and filling our roles with experts and people who care deeply about those small villages at the end of the road in Mali, in Sudan, in Ethiopia, it gave him an opportunity. It gave them an opportunity and us to figure out what we could do at the end of the road. And we always see these people as the same as President and Mrs. Carter: The possibilities and the potential is there; the attention is not. And so by highlighting these places, it gives us an opportunity to help people help themselves.
Pamela Kirkland: I feel like so many people think of the global impact that the Carter Center has, and there are a lot of things domestically that are being done here. At the same time, you have a city like Atlanta that is really becoming much more global in the sense of the people who are coming here. And so how does all of that come together? Atlanta is such a hub of, you know, innovation and new ideas. The Carter Center is just so well-placed in a place like that.
Paige Alexander: Well, we’re fortunate enough to have a good partnership with Emory University — a number of universities throughout Atlanta and Georgia. And we also have the CDC here in Atlanta. And so looking at global health issues at a time when the world now understands what global health and what a global pandemic means, being able to look at that from the center, from being in Atlanta is really important. And again, the Carter Center has always worked internationally on these issues, but to now be able to look at mental health crisis, mental illness, all of these issues now are relevant. And so Atlanta kind of is a center of the universe in many of them. And so it’s really a pleasure to have our center here.
Pamela Kirkland: The Camp David Accords, widely regarded as one of President Carter’s greatest diplomatic achievements. How does the enduring legacy of the Camp David Accords continue to influence some of the international relations policies that we see today?
Paige Alexander: Yeah, the Camp David Accords were absolutely one of his major accomplishments. And I think he has been a champion for peace. And we have continued to look at those opportunities, whether it’s what is happening in Sudan, whether it’s what’s happening in Ethiopia, or throughout Asia. This is the work that we do because we have 3,100 staff people and they’re all overseas, and we’ve got 300 here in Atlanta. But the bulk of the work that we do is overseas, and all politics is local and all development is local. So for our opportunity to take the cues from the staff in the field to figure out what the next step is and where conflicts need to be resolved and where there are human rights abuses and what are the diseases that are prevalent that are holding communities back? All of that is what we look at in the field, and then we try to help address it.
Pamela Kirkland: I wanted to touch on both the mental health and access to health care, that you all address as well. How do those efforts reflect the organization’s commitment to addressing some of these societal issues, and how did they contribute to the legacies of both Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter?
Paige Alexander: Well, Mrs. Carter spent 50 years trying to make sure that mental illness was de-stigmatized. And if COVID did one thing for all of us, it was to bring that closer to home. The fact that it would be hard to be in a room with someone and say, “Does anyone know anyone who’s had a mental health crisis in the past four years?” Everyone would raise their hand. And so now people understand it’s a health issue and it’s a human right, and it is something that needs to be addressed. You know, mental health at this point is when someone has a mental health crisis and the first call is to the police because they’re on the corner of the street doing something they shouldn’t. That’s not who the first call should be to. So as we work in Atlanta on expanding our — our work on policing alternatives and looking at trying to have people with lived experience address the mental health issues to keep people out of jail. That’s one element. The work that Mrs. Carter did on the mental health side and the work that President Carter did on resolving conflicts. You know, we’re — history’s repeating itself right now, and we are constantly finding ourselves in a situation where President Carter had so many contacts throughout Israel and Palestine, for example, or throughout Sudan and South Sudan, that we are still able to talk to. And they trust us as an honest broker. And it’s because we are now chock-full of experts who learned at the feet of President and Mrs. Carter as to how to bring these issues to the forefront in a quiet diplomacy type of way through shuttle diplomacy without press and keeping our name out of it, but still bringing people to the table. So that’s the legacy that the Carter Center is living with.
Pamela Kirkland: Thinking back to again post-presidency Jimmy Carter thinking he wanted to tackle things like global health and potential pandemics, the eradication of Guinea worm, mental health when it comes to the first lady and some of her initiatives and where we are today. You mentioned COVID and how that brought up so many of these issues. How unique is that, that they had that much foresight to see that these were issues that needed to be addressed?
Paige Alexander: They’re both incredibly unique individuals. I think history has shown their contribution to the world and to the political process, and to everything that they did when they were in the White House and the governor’s mansion here in Georgia. It’s indicative of the legacy that they’ve left behind in the organization that bears their name here at the Carter Center. So for us building out on that legacy and making sure that we adjust to changing times. As President Carter used to say, there are always — there’s always going to be work to do in this field, and we’ll continue to do it.
Pamela Kirkland: Paige Alexander, thank you so much.
Paige Alexander: Thank you. It’s a pleasure talking about the Carter Center and President and Mrs. Carter’s legacy.
