Latinos Remember Jimmy Carter as the First President to Give Them A Place at the Table

Jimmy Carter, the longest-living former U.S. president, died at the age of 100 years old on Sunday in his home in Plains, Georgia. He is remembered for his humble beginnings and a life marked by a deep commitment to diplomacy and human rights.

Some of the longest serving Latino civil rights groups in the United States also commemorate him as the first president to give the demographic a place at the table, more specifically the White House.

Carter: A Pioneer for Latino Voices

"He was the first president to appoint a significant number of Latinos to key roles in his administration," said Unidos US President and CEO Janet Murguía. "Que en paz descanse." (May he rest in peace).

Carter, who served as the 39th president of the United States between 1977 and 1981, recognized Latinos as a political force and recruited multiple leaders from grassroots movements–such as UnidosUS, then known as the National Council of La Raza—to serve in his campaigns and administration.

Latino Votes Propelled Carter to Victory

According to the New York Times, Carter was elected in 1976 with an estimated 81% of the Latino vote. Notably, Carter was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win Texas, and political observers attribute his narrow win to Latino voters.

Historic Latino Appointments Under Carter

Notable Latinos appointed by Carter into his administration include Graciela Olivarez, first Latina to serve as Director of the Community Services Administration, Leonel J. Castillo, the first Latino commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, and Esteban Torres as the U.S. Representative to UNESCO. Torres later led the first-ever White House Office of Hispanic Affairs.

Carter also appointed more Latino federal judges than any other president before him, among them Judge James DeAnda, the second Mexican American lifetime federal judge, who helped to organize the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, per the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

"A Decent Human Being"

Arabella Martinez told NBC that "the D.C. elites used to make fun of [Carter] as a country person, a rube," as she remembered him as "an exceptionally decent human being." Martinez, a then-member of the National Council of La Raza, was nominated by Carter in 1977 to serve as the assistant secretary for the Office of Human Development Services in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

The Carter Center's Advocacy in Latin America

After leaving the White House, Carter and his wife founded The Carter Center in 1982, a non-governmental organization dedicated to human rights advocacy, conflict mediation, and election monitoring.

The Center has monitored more than 100 elections in 39 countries, including several in Latin America, ensuring fair and transparent processes. Recently, Carter's team condemned the role of the Maduro regime in Venezuela's July 2024 elections, declaring them invalid.

Carter's Nobel Peace Prize Recognition

In 2002 Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, advance democracy and human rights, and promote economic and social development.

Among Carter's most notable achievements were the 1978 Camp David Accords, which facilitated peace between Egypt and Israel, and the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties, which returned control of the Panama Canal to Panama, strengthening Latin American sovereignty.