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How Jimmy Carter Launched His Career and Cemented His Legacy in Atlanta

Published

1 year ago

January 6, 2025

How Jimmy Carter Launched His Career and Cemented His Legacy in Atlanta

The mythology of Jimmy Carter begins and ends in Plains, the small Georgia town that raised him and kept drawing him back.

Yet roughly 150 miles away is Atlanta, a city just as essential to understanding the life of the 39th president. If Plains was his home, Georgia’s capital was his stage. If Plains reflected Mr. Carter’s small-town character, Atlanta fit his global ambitions.

While it was never a permanent home, Atlanta allowed him to develop policy priorities and kick off a national political career. Then, after leaving Washington, it gave him the space to burnish a humanitarian legacy, housing his efforts to promote equality, peace and democratic ideals.

Now, because Mr. Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, chose to place the Carter Center, their presidential library and the crown jewel of their post-presidential work, in the city, it is where hundreds of visitors will shuffle through the cold to pay their respects while he lies in repose through Tuesday.

“It would have been inconceivable to put everything in Atlanta and to move to Atlanta, because that’s not where they’re from, that’s not who they are,” Jason Carter, Mr. Carter’s grandson, said in an interview. But, he added, “the platform that was available to them in Atlanta was going to be exactly what they needed to have this global jumping-off point.”

Mr. Carter was undeniably shaped by the years he spent in youth on his father’s peanut farm. But beginning with his campaign to serve in the State Senate, he sought to bridge what was often a yawning divide between the rural region where he grew up and the urban engine of the state.

The effort helped shape a career that played out equally on large public stages like Atlanta and more intimate and personal ones like Plains.

“He could relate to people who did not have voices in those big rooms,” said Shannon Heath-Longino, who recounted how Mr. Carter listened to Eva Davis, her grandmother and a champion for revitalizing the East Lake neighborhood of Atlanta, about her vision. He even went to Washington with her to help secure crucial housing funds, she said.

“We had not had the best relationship with political leaders and people being people of their word once they’re elected,” she added. “He was just a man of his word.”

There are the obvious personal influences of the big city. The younger Mr. Carter joked that his grandfather may never have had a Pepsi, given the Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta, and always tried to take his commercial flights through Delta Air Lines, in a nod to its prominence in the city.

And there was his rain-or-shine devotion to the Atlanta Braves. Mr. Carter and his wife often attended games and were on occasion caught on the kiss cam that panned over the home crowd.

“He would sit there in the rain and cheer the team on — and he was a die-hard fan, a real fan,” said Terry McGuirk, the chairman of the Braves. He added that Mr. Carter had perhaps “the purest love of the game that I have ever seen out of a president.”

But as a political figure who grew his influence in Atlanta, he helped shape its growth and many of the people who would go on to lead or represent the city and the ideals it valued.

As a state senator, Mr. Carter voted to establish the city’s main public transportation authority and later, as governor, oversaw a sales tax increase to help fund its growth and operations. He overhauled the state government, oversaw new mental health and education policies and established a judicial nominating commission.

He “diversified government,” said Dr. Meredith Evans, the director of the president’s library and museum, by elevating women and people of color into positions of power.

“His door was always open — and people sought his counsel in Atlanta,” she added, calling it “a quiet force.”

Mr. Carter was also instrumental in preserving the legacies of some of Atlanta’s most important figures, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He hung a portrait of the civil rights icon in the Capitol gallery during his term as governor. As president, he designated Dr. King’s home and neighborhood a national historic site and helped raise millions of dollars to help fulfill the King family’s ambitions of building the King Center.

“He laid that foundation to make that recognition,” recalled Dr. Bernice King, the daughter of Dr. King and chief executive of the King Center. She added, “these partners, relationships, working together have really made Atlanta a world class city — I don’t think it could have happened without the alignment of the King family and President Carter.”

After his single term in the White House, it quickly became clear that Mr. Carter, who was 56 at the time, would return to his home state.

“He wasn’t the kind of person who’s going to move into a mansion in Atlanta and tap into corporate boards,” said Sheffield Hale, the president and chief executive of the Atlanta History Center. But, Mr. Hale added, “he was deeply rooted in Georgia.”

His devotion to Plains and frugal inclinations meant he spent years sleeping on a pullout couch or Murphy bed during his regular visits to Atlanta. But he still honed connections with Emory University, where he would serve on faculty, team up with the school to open the Carter Center and frequently lecture. (Mr. Carter earned tenure after 37 years, at 94.)

He also helmed the Atlanta Project, a plan to address housing, unemployment and other problems in the city, ahead of the 1996 Olympics.

“Being a relatively young man when he left the presidency and determined, as he was, to make the most of the gifts he’d been given and the opportunities he’d been given, Plains was not going to be a big enough of a landscape for President Carter and his ambitions,” said Joe Crespino, an Emory University history professor. He added that his students frequently peppered the former president with questions based on his papers.

The placement of the Carter Center — which houses a traditional presidential library in tandem with a private organization focused on health care and peace — cemented the former president’s connection to Atlanta. (Dr. Evans, of the Carter library, noted that the easy logistics of the city helped overtake Mr. Carter’s initial vision to put the library in Plains.)

Its permanent location was not without conflict, as the initial plans for the center included building a new highway — decades after Mr. Carter, as governor, had opposed similar construction. A coalition of neighborhoods fought against the new parkway until a compromise was struck, one that led to both the creation of the center and about 200 acres of greenery for what is now Freedom Park.

In a symbol of its importance, the center is now the centerpiece of the tributes to Mr. Carter in Georgia, with flowers and jars of peanuts left at its entrance. The family made a point of holding its first full service there in Atlanta on Saturday, before mourners arrived to pay respects.

“He was a great neighbor, a tremendous friend,” said Brian Maloof, who still owns Manuel’s Tavern, the Atlanta bar where Mr. Carter announced his campaign for governor and continued to visit over the years. “We’re going to miss him.”

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2 students killed, 7 other people injured in Tennessee bus crash during school field trip

Published

3 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

2 students killed, 7 other people injured in Tennessee bus crash during school field trip

Two students were killed and at least seven other people were injured after a school bus crash in Tennessee on Friday, officials said.

The school bus was carrying 25 students and five adults from Kenwood Middle School in Clarksville for a field trip in Jackson, Tennessee, the school district said in a statement.

The crash, which remains under investigation, involved a Tennessee Department of Transportation dump truck, a Chevrolet Trailblazer and the school bus. It happened around noon on Highway 70 in Carroll County, said Maj. Travis Plotzer, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Plotzer said there were two adults in the TDOT vehicle and one person in the Chevrolet Trailblazer. He said the crash is “a parent’s worst nightmare.”

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

At least seven people who were injured were taken by air ambulance to hospitals across Tennessee, including Memphis and Nashville, CBS affiliate WREG reported. The extent of their injuries was not immediately disclosed.

This image, taken from a video, shows emergency responders at the scene of a fatal school bus crash on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Carroll County, Tennessee.

WBBJ-TV via AP

The school’s principal, Karen Miller, said counselors will be available starting Monday. In a written message to families shared on Facebook, she called the crash an unimaginable tragedy and encouraged parents to be attentive to their child’s emotional needs as they process the deaths of their classmates.

“Please continue to pray with us for our students, families, faculty, and staff,” Miller wrote. “I am grateful for the strength of our Kenwood community, and I trust we will all support each other during this difficult time.”

Four people were taken to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville and were in stable condition Friday, according to a Vanderbilt Health spokesperson.

Another 19 people were taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Carroll County, said Kim Alexander, a spokesperson for Baptist Memorial Health Care. All were evaluated and released, though it was unclear how many actually were injured, she said.

CBS affiliate WTVF reported the school bus was on the way to participate in the Toyota Hub City Grand Prix Greenpower USA race in Jackson. The Jackson-Madison County superintendent said in a statement that they were “completely devastated” by the crash and called the loss “immeasurable,” WTVF reported.

The school district was hosting the event.

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Man arrested in plot to firebomb Palestinian activist’s home after undercover op

Published

15 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

Man arrested in plot to firebomb Palestinian activist’s home after undercover op

Police detain Nerdeen Kiswani, an organizer of pro-Palestinian demonstration group “Within Our Lifetime” during a protest on Friday, April 12, 2024, in New York.

Yuki Iwamura/AP

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Yuki Iwamura/AP

NEW YORK — A man accused of planning to firebomb the home of a prominent Palestinian activist has been arrested following a weekslong undercover operation led by the New York City Police Department, officials said Friday.

The target of the plot was Nerdeen Kiswani, who frequently leads protests in New York against Israel and the war in Gaza through the organization Within Our Lifetime.

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Kiswani, 31, said law enforcement officials informed her late Thursday that they had disrupted “a threat on my life that was about to take place.”

Federal authorities said they arrested Alexander Heifler on Thursday at his home in Hoboken, New Jersey, as he was assembling Molotov cocktails that he planned to throw at Kiswani’s home. For weeks, he had discussed the plot with an undercover NYPD detective who had infiltrated a group chat used by Heifler, according to a police department spokesperson.

An official who was briefed on the investigation said Heifler, 26, identified as a member of the JDL 613 Brotherhood, a New Jersey-based group founded in 2024 that describes its membership as “Jewish warriors” fighting back against rising antisemitism.

A website for the group says they are inspired by the original Jewish Defense League, a group linked to numerous bombings and attempted assassinations of Arab American political activists in the 1970s and 1980s.

Heifler planned to flee to Israel following the attack, according to the official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details of an ongoing investigation.

An email inquiry sent to the JDL 613 was not returned.

Kiswani, who lives in Brooklyn with her infant son and husband, said the plot would not deter her continued activism.

“I feel very blessed that they were able to thwart this, but it’s something that is a constant possibility for people who speak up on behalf of Palestine,” she said.

Heifler was charged in a criminal complaint with separate counts of making and possessing destructive devices, which each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A message left with his attorney was not returned. He made an initial appearance in New Jersey federal court on Friday afternoon.

“Let me be clear: We will not tolerate violent extremism in our city,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement. “No one should face violence for their political beliefs or their advocacy. I am relieved that Nerdeen is safe.”

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According to a court filing written by an FBI agent, Heifler spoke on a video call in February with a group that included an undercover detective about his interest in training for “self-defense” and wanting space where he could throw Molotov cocktails.

The next day, he met with the undercover detective in person and discussed his plan to use them against Kiswani and flee the country, according to the complaint. “We have (Kiswani’s) address,” Heifler allegedly told the undercover. “So it’s like that, that would be easier if you’d be more comfortable with that.”

Heifler and the undercover detective drove to Kiswani’s residence on March 4 to “conduct surveillance” and discussed making a dozen Molotov cocktails to throw at her home and two cars parked outside, complaint said.

On Thursday, the undercover detective and Heifler met at Heifler’s Hoboken residence, where he had assembled components to make the Molotov cocktails, including a large bottle of Everclear, a highly flammable alcohol, the complaint said. Law enforcement officers then executed a search warrant at the residence and recovered the eight Molotov cocktails, the complaint said.

Kiswani co-founded the group Within Our Lifetime, which frequently organizes protests against Israel that draw hundreds of participants and often end in arrests. The group’s calls to “abolish Zionism” and support for “all forms of struggle,” including violence, has drawn fierce criticism. Kiswani denies that her criticism of Israel amounts to antisemitism.

Kiswani has been a frequent target of online vitriol. Earlier this year, U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, a Florida Republican, sparked backlash after writing in a social media post that “the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.” The post was a response to a message Kiswani shared about dog owners, which she said was a light joke.

Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) has come under fire for comments about Muslims in America. He's seen here addressing the New York Young Republican Club's 113th Annual Gala at Cipriani Wall Street on December 13, 2025 in New York City.

“That hate against Palestinians has been bolstered by public officials, by Zionist organizations, who are never held accountable,” she said. “This is the inevitable result of that.”

The operation was carried out by the Racially and Ethnically Motivated Extremism unit within the NYPD’s counterterrorism bureau, a police spokesperson said.

“This is exactly how our intelligence and counterterrorism operation is designed to work — a sophisticated apparatus built to detect danger early and prevent violence before it reaches our streets,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.