Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King released the following statement on the passing of President Jimmy Carter:
Andrea and I send our heartfelt condolences to President Jimmy Carter’s family, especially his children and grandchildren. President Carter was a trailblazer, a fighter who punched above his weight. While history may have been hard on President Carter at times, today, he is remembered as a global human rights leader.
My father once said, “As long as there is poverty in this world, no man can be totally rich even if he has a billion dollars.” President Carter, like my father, saw poverty as one of the greatest threats and was determined to eradicate it. I was honored that he selected me to represent our country on two foreign delegations that led to the creation of the African Initiative, a program which sought to end starvation in Africa.
Over the years, my family found comfort in President Carter’s wise counsel and strong leadership. Even after he left office, he carried on the legacies that my family has long-championed, the eradication of the triple evils – poverty, racism, and violence. We will truly miss President Carter, but we know that he would not want us to be saddened by his death, but proud of the work we’ve accomplished together and resolved to continue the work he started for the generations that come after us. Rest in peace, President Carter. You ve earned it.