Jimmy Carter was my hero — a man who embodied what it means to not only talk the talk but walk the walk.

Much has been said of his post-presidency, where he spoke out for the Palestinian people, waged war on the Guinea Worm, advocated for free and fair elections and transformed the world of affordable housing with dignity and grace. The Noble Peace Prize was an apt reward for the greatest post-presidency in history

However, I think some of the things he did as president with the use of the bully pulpit have flown under the radar, especially what he did in the arena of human rights. An example of that is what happened in the wake of Steve Biko’s  death. Biko was an anti-apartheid  activist who died under suspicious circumstances in the custody of the South African police shortly after Carter became president. Following a revelation of what happened in his beating death, Carter made it clear that this was completely unacceptable.

When I watched the movie based on Biko’s life, “Cry Freedom,” I was a student at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare. At the end of the movie, a list was rolled of everyone who died under suspicious circumstances in custody of South African police. After Biko’s ‘s death in September 1977, there is not another suspicious death until late January 1981, a few weeks after Carter left office. The South African regime knew it wouldn’t be tolerated by Carter.

His support of human rights around the world transformed more lives than we can possibly imagine.

In his speech when he won the Nobel Peace Prize, he said, “God gives us the capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace.”

Thank you, President Carter, for showing us what good power looks like and for being an emblem for what decency, kindness, and faith can do. It was never about him but about the God he served.

Well done, good and faithful servant.