Jimmy Carter's legacy: Preserving the history of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
ATLANTA - The life and legacy of Jimmy Carter is deeply connected to that of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. President Carter established Dr. King’s birth home and neighborhood as a national historic site, and today it is a national park.
President Carter was a close friend of Dr. King’s father—they spoke often, supporting each other politically and personally. Their relationship influenced Carter to preserve the King family’s home and neighborhood for future generations.
"We like to think of him as our founder, really," said Reginald Chapple, the Superintendent of the Martin Luther King National Historical Park & Preservation District. "Dr. King's father was a good friend of President Carter, so folks really don't know that, and that they shared a friendship and actually talked very frank, open and honest about civil rights or social justice or race relations in America."
Even though President Carter never knew Martin Luther King Jr., their lives ran parallel: both were Georgians from humble beginnings who eventually won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Chapple says both men’s lives show us our own power.
"The first thing is that the common man can make a big difference," said Chapple. "Another is that the local stage is a world stage. And so, in that, we get visitors from all over the world who want to understand both men."
President Carter cemented their relationship into history in 1980 by designating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth home and neighborhood as a national historic site.
Now, his birth home, neighborhood and church are protected forever as a national park.
"You get a sense of him as a citizen in the United States and you can kind of relive his footsteps and see the American dream where you can actually be a young person, dream of a future life for yourself, and not only impact our country, but impact the world," said Chapple.
Visitors recognize the gift President Carter gave Atlanta and the nation.
"History needs to be passed down from generation to generation. Otherwise, you know, people won't have any idea what happened before and they're not able to learn from history's mistakes," said visitor Huipengjohn Yao.
"Small efforts, just so long ago can be still making such an impact today. I'm sure Jimmy Carter recognized that impact at the time, but it just goes to show, the efforts that you make from years and years ago will have an impact on generations to come," said visitor Kamryn Clem.
Chapple hopes as we enter a new year saying goodbye to President Carter, we take lessons from two of our nation’s great men.
"We’re hearing a lot of that from different sides for saying, you know, ‘I may not agree with his politics, but I agree with his humanity.’ And so those things are like ground zero for us. And we're proud that this site exists for folks to be able to come in and to really experience that and kind of just take a breath and see like what's possible," said Chapple.
The museum at the national historic park will host close family and friends traveling to the Carter Center this Saturday for funeral proceedings as they move from Plains to Atlanta.
The Source: This article is based on original reporting by FOX 5's Alexa Liacko.