A Reflection“We’re going to put you on ‘Jimmy Carter Watch.’ ” “Jimmy Carter Watch” sounded like a pretty important assignment for a Newsweek magazine college intern in the summer of 1976. Then my second thought was: What does that mean?I thought about those summer weekends when I drove back to Plains for the first time in 48 years on New Year’s Eve following the announcement of the death of former president James Earl  “Jimmy” Carter Jr. For some reason, I felt compelled to see his hometown where I spent my entire summer weekends that year. There was never much to see in Plains to start. The city is only a mile wide in every direction and only has a population between 500+ and 700+, depending on what source you believe. The two most popular spots were the old train depot, which served as the campaign headquarters, and brother Billy Carter’s service station, which sold more souvenirs and the popular Billy Beer than it did gasoline. Visitors also rode past the Carter compound, but because of the Secret Service’s protection, you were not allowed to stop and take photos. Those travelers who visited on a Sunday morning sought to get a seat at the service at Maranatha Baptist Church, where they hoped to get a glimpse of the Carter family.  I was fortunate to beat out, but I don’t know how many candidates for this one position in the southeast bureau of the prestigious Newsweek magazine, whose offices were in the Peachtree Center office complex in Atlanta. Its rival publication, Time magazine, was also located in the complex. I didn’t want to blow my first big assignment and embarrass my advisors at Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University), who recommended me for the internship. I mean, this was  “The” Jimmy Carter, the former governor of Georgia, whom I thought had a snowball’s chance in hell of winning the seat of the presidency of the United States. Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice Credit: Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta VoiceWith my reporter’s pad and pen, I listened intently to bureau chief Joe Cummings who broke down the particulars to me and put my panic at ease. Because this bureau was based in Georgia, the Carter campaign was its main priority. Correspondent Eleanor Cliff followed and wrote about the campaign during the week. After Carter won, Clift became Newsweek’s White House correspondent, covering every presidential campaign. The other correspondent in the office was Vern Smith, who became bureau chief after Cummings retired and started teaching journalism at West Georgia College. No matter where he was in the country campaigning, 99.9 percent of the time, Carter made it back to Plains in time for Sunday services at his church, where he often taught Sunday school even decades after leaving the White House. I would be back on the road to Atlanta on Sundays, and Carter would leave Sunday evening or Monday morning to get back on the campaign trail. Wherever his next destination was, Cliff would be there waiting. “We want you to cover Carter when he returns to Georgia during the weekend in case some major news breaks out,” Cummings said.So that’s what “Jimmy Carter Watch” was all about. I didn’t have to file any stories. I just had to keep an eye on the presidential candidate and family members in case anything major happened to them. I would stay in nearby Americus, drive over to Plains each day, and spend my days at the campaign headquarters located in the old train depot. If something big did break out, I was to call the bureau for backup. I can do that, I thought. While working as the student news director at Clark’s radio station WCLK 91.9FM, I was the first journalist on the scene at the shooting death of Alberta King, the mother of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., at Ebenezer Baptist Church. I also covered the Atlanta Police Riot of 1974, where protesters were brutally beaten during a march in downtown Atlanta. But those stories had happened in the comfortable surroundings of Black Atlanta. I was going to be headed to south Georgia, and I had no idea what kind of reception I would receive from my fellow white Georgians. Fortunately, I didn’t receive one moment of racism that I was aware of. I don’t know whether it was because I was representing Newsweek magazine, or the racists were on their good behavior because of Carter’s run for the White House, or because some people thought I was CBS correspondent Ed Bradley. Bradley covered the campaign during the week so people would see his reports on the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite. Bradley and I had three things in common – we were journalists, black males, and wore beards. Of course, he was a few years older and a few inches taller than me, but you couldn’t tell by looking at him on television. We were the only visible black journalists covering the campaign that I knew of.Sometimes, all day or every weekend, elderly white women or young black kids would come up to me and say, “I saw you yesterday on the news.” The kids were really happy to see someone of their color who was not on TV being arrested. photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice Credit: Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta VoiceEven when the visitors found out that I wasn’t Mr. Bradley, they still wanted to take a photo with me. The depot campaign manager, Maxine Reece, would break the bad news to the visitors that there were no Carters currently around. But, “We have Mr. Washington here from Newsweek magazine.”  “Newsweek magazine! Can you take a picture with us?” they would ask. Some Saturdays, I would take photos from the time I arrived until the campaign headquarters closed. The intensity of people looking to take a photo with anyone named Carter was insane. I was the consolation prize. When his mother, Lillian, and his mother-in-law, Allie Smith, visited the campaign headquarters, they were swamped by people wanting photos and to touch them. They often sat in the two rocking chairs and greeted visitors, VIPs, and media. Miss Lillian took the brunt of the adulation because she had done TV interviews about her famous sons. She even appeared as a guest on the popular The Tonight Show, starring Johnny Carson.  Miss Lillian and manager Reece were my two favorite people in Plains. They looked out for this young wannabe reporter. Reece always made sure I got some food when it was brought in. If there was something major happening with one of the Carters, she made sure I knew about it. Once, when I was about to help some campaign volunteers move a heavy podium for a speech later that day at the depot, Miss Lillian grabbed my arm and said softly, “Let them do it.” Frankly, I was just looking for something to do. I was bored and didn’t mind helping out. Maybe she saw it differently from me since I was the only black male around at that time. These two women were your typical “No BS” Southern ladies who didn’t tolerate no mess off of anyone. You don’t have to look any further than Miss Lillian to know why Mr. Carter became the type of president and man he was. She had a long history of community service. She served as a nurse in the Peace Corps in India. She instilled those values and morals in her son that so many people have talked about following death. She died in 1983 at the age of 85.Even though Carter was a one-term president, he was the second most effective president in U.S. history behind Lyndon Baines Johnson. Carter passed a large number of significant legislation. He established the Department of Education and the Department of Energy. He normalized relations with China. His peace accords between Egypt and Israel still stand today. He deregulated the airline industry. He passed a $19 billion tax cut, and he freed the American hostages in Iran, which the Reagan administration took credit for. He crammed a lot of work in those four short years. photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice Credit: Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta VoiceMr. Carter set the standard of what an ex-presidency should be. It’s such a high standard that I doubt it will ever be matched. When I was a young journalism intern in Plains, I couldn’t wait to hop on I-75 North and head back to exciting Atlanta. Now, as a semi-retired journalist, I can see myself sitting in Miss Lillian’s rocking chair, which is still at the depot, greeting visitors, telling my tales, and having my picture taken.The post Return to Plains appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.