In 1980, James Clyburn was the head of the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission. In October of that year, he shared a car ride with President Jimmy Carter. Two years prior, Carter was in South Carolina for a fundraiser in West Columbia. Clyburn was there, but only saw Carter from afar. This time around, he said got the opportunity to learn more about the man behind the title.
“I think that Jimmy Carter taught Southerners how to win; and he taught Democrats how to serve, and I think he taught all politicians how to lose.”
Clyburn said, as they traveled in Spartanburg and Greenville Counties, he got from Carter a certain resignation; recalling how he knew that “he was not going to get re-elected,” he said.” “I think that he had hoped to bring the South into the 20th century but was failing at doing so.”
In reflection, Clyburn said, Carter was successful in other ways; ways there were directly tied to what he believed was a main part of his service.
“He And his late mother Lillian were very, very good Southern campaigners.” He said the two had a tremendous appreciation for being Southerners and that they saw helping to transform the South as part of their service. “Jimmy Carter saw his goal as trying to bring people together,” Clyburn said,
Another aspect of Carter's legacy, Clyburn said, many may not know about it is how the President helped to diversify the judicial system.
“Until Joe Biden came along, Jimmy Carter had done more to diversify the judicial system than any other president.”
According to the progressive legal group, the American Constitution Society, before Carter took office, only 8 women and 31 people of color had ever served as federal judges. During his administration, Carter surpassed those numbers by appointing 40 women and 57 people of color, including 8 women of color.
“A lot of people would think it was Lyndon Johnson or Barack Obama, but no,” Clyburn said. “Jimmy Carter has done more, putting African Americans on these federal benches than any other president until recently.”
