On October 1, 1924, James Earl Carter Jr. was born in Plains, Georgia. James Earl Carter Sr., his father, was a prosperous businessman who made investments in farms. Carter was born in the Wise Sanitarium, where his mother, Bessie Lilian, was employed as a nurse.
Young Carter attended the local high school from 1937 to 1941. Motivated by his father’s World War I service in the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps, he pursued his desire of serving in the armed forces and was accepted into the Naval Academy in 1943.
Carter wrote in the book What Makes a Marriage Last by Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas that he felt an immediate connection with his wife, Rosalynn. In 1946, following Carter’s graduation from the Naval Academy, the youthful pair tied the knot. Carter gave his all to his family, which now consisted of his wife, four kids, and the family company, after leaving the Navy. He constructed a ranch-style home in Georgia in 1961 for his family; it is currently estimated to be worth $210,000. The Washington Post claims that Carter chose not to leverage his time in the White House into a financial advantage and instead returned to this house after leaving office. “I don’t see anything wrong with it, and I don’t hold it against other people,” he remarked. Simply put, I never really wanted to be wealthy. Carter had sold the peanut company and was deeply in debt, but he was able to maintain a comfortable standard of living because to his $217,000 pension.
According to data from the General Services Administration for the 2019 fiscal year, Carter spent $456,000 on expenses. This is much less than the budgets allotted for other former presidents, like George H. W. Bush, who spent $952,000, and even less than the $1 million that each of Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush spent.
Furthermore, Carter has been seen often purchasing his clothing from the Dollar General store that is close by. Even when he does travel, he would rather take commercial aircraft over private ones. Following his term as president, Carter continued to teach Sunday school at a nearby Baptist church and at Emory University.
Actress Quinta Brunson Is Upset With ‘No Black Characters’ On Friends
The conversation around diversity has been intensifying lately, making everyone think about its importance in all areas of life. One recent topic of discussion? The iconic 90s sitcom Friends.
Quinta Brunson, known for her role in Abbott Elementary, recently pointed out Friends for its lack of diversity. While hosting Saturday Night Live, Brunson used her monologue to highlight the absence of Black characters in the beloved show.
Brunson contrasted the diversity on Abbott Elementary, which features the lives of teachers in a predominantly Black, state-funded elementary school in Philadelphia, with the noticeable lack of diversity on Friends. The difference was strikingly evident.
With her well-known wit, she joked: “I wanted to be on SNL back in the day, but the audition process seemed long – so instead, I just created my own TV show, made sure it became really popular, won a bunch of Emmys, and then got asked to host. So much easier, so much easier.”
While the audience chuckled, the underlying point was clear. Brunson continued, “It’s a network sitcom like, say, Friends. Except, instead of being about a group of friends, it’s about a group of teachers. Instead of New York, it’s in Philadelphia, and instead of not having Black people, it does.”
Her playful commentary sparked serious reflection, even from Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman. Kauffman has publicly expressed embarrassment over the show’s lack of diversity and pledged $4 million to support African and African-American studies at a university.
“I’ve learned a lot in the last 20 years,” Kauffman admitted. “Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy. It’s painful looking at yourself in the mirror. I’m embarrassed that I didn’t know better 25 years ago.”
She added, “It took me a long time to begin to understand how I internalized systemic racism. I’ve been working really hard to become an ally, an anti-racist. And this seemed to me to be a way that I could participate in the conversation from a white woman’s perspective.”
The discussion around diversity is far from over, but it’s clear that the conversation has advanced—even for a cherished sitcom like Friends.
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