Former US President Jimmy Carter celebrated his 99th birthday with his wife, Rosalynn, and their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren in Plains.
The event took place in the historic one-story structure where the Carters lived before he was first elected to the Georgia Senate in 1962.
“The remarkable piece to me and I think to my family is that while my grandparents have accomplished so much, they have remained the same sort of South Georgia couple that lives in a 600-person village where they were born,” said grandson Jason Carter, who chairs the board at The Carter Center, which his grandparents founded in 1982.
At The Carter Center in Atlanta, meanwhile, 99 new American citizens, who came from 45 countries, took the oath of allegiance as part of a naturalization ceremony in honor of the former president.
This is so impressive, and I’m so happy for it to be here,” said Tania Martinez after the ceremony. A 53-year-old nurse in Roswell, Martinez was born in Cuba and came to the U.S. from Ghana 12 years ago.
Bill Clinton, the 42nd president and first Democratic president celebrated the history maker.
“Jimmy! Happy birthday,” Clinton said in his video message. “You only get to be 99 once. It’s been a long, good ride, and we thank you for your service and your friendship and the enduring embodiment of the American dream.”
Musician Peter Gabriel led concertgoers at Madison Square Garden in a rendition of “Happy Birthday.”
Carter was born into the Jim Crow division, at a time when the Ku Klux Klan marched openly on state capitols and in Washington.
As Governor and President, Carter appointed black people to top positions.
