Meeting Jimmy Carter in Boston

Jimmy Carter, Ray Flynn and Michael Quinlin. Photo by Gail Oskin, Courtesy of City of Boston Archives

By Michael Quinlin 

Over the past few weeks, my recollections of meeting Jimmy Carter in Boston for the first time have resurfaced, bringing back memories that I still cherish some three decades later. 

On Sunday, January 10, 1993, Carter paid a flying visit to Boston to promote his new book, Turning Point: A Candidate, A State and A Nation Come of Age.  The autobiographic memoir recounts how social and political inequities of the Deep South prompted Carter, a 38 year-old peanut farmer and former Naval officer, to enter politics in 1962 with a vision of righting the wrongs of a segregated society.

Image Courtesy of Michael Quinlin

When we learned of his upcoming visit, Boston Mayor Ray Flynn's office set up a last-minute meeting to seek Carter’s input on appointing an American envoy to help broker peace in Northern Ireland. The quest for an envoy was being spearheaded by a national coalition called Irish-Americans for Clinton/Gore, and had swiftly gained traction once Bill Clinton won the presidential election in November, 1992. The group was led by Flynn, Connecticut Congressman Bruce A. Morrison, New York attorney Paul O’Dwyer and others.

Carter was flying into Boston that afternoon for a 6 o’clock book event at the Boston Public Library, and he agreed to meet us for 30 minutes beforehand at the nearby Ritz Carlton Hotel in Back Bay. He came straight from the airport to the Ritz, and when his black town car pulled up to the curb on a cold New England winter evening, there to greet him was Mayor Flynn and a small entourage of aides, including a photographer, plus enthusiastic hotel staff. 

The driver opened the trunk of the car and there was a sudden rush to grab the former president’s suitcase, led by Ritz doorman Kenny Young, Mayor Flynn and Carter himself. Neither Flynn nor Young knew at the time that Carter always insisted on carrying his own luggage, even when he was president. The three of them tussled over the bag, with a few passers-by stopping to gawk, until Carter’s polite insistence prevailed. 

Kenny Young, Jimmy Carter and Ray Flynn. Photo by Gail Oskin, Courtesy of City of Boston Archives

The Secret Service moved us quickly into the hotel, where the service elevator was waiting to take us straight to Carter’s suite. Seven of us crowded into the small lift, along with the luggage and camera bag, with little room to maneuver. When the elevator began its creaky ascent, Carter looked around smiling and said, “Hello, I’m Jimmy Carter.” The rest of us politely followed suit, introducing ourselves one by one, ending with Flynn’s trusted driver, a Black police officer named Quion “Q” Riley. When he heard the name Riley, Carter looked over at the Secret Service man and quipped, “See, I told you everyone in Boston is Irish.” 

Carter’s easy-going, informal demeanor, a hallmark of his personality, put us at such ease that we followed him from the elevator right into his hotel room. Carter set his luggage down, and turning to face us with a bemused grin, asked, “Do y’all mind if I use the bathroom first?” 

Photo courtesy of Michael Quinlin

The conversation that followed included small talk about the rigors of being on a national book tour and about book publishing. Carter knew about Peachtree Publishers, my sister Margaret’s publishing house in Atlanta, which had recently released a book called A Christmas Housewarming.  The collection of essays by public figures included a Preface by Carter himself, and the book was meant to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity, a cause that remained dear to Carter’s heart throughout his life. 

Carter and Flynn talked about urban issues facing Boston and the country, including homelessness, affordable housing and community-based action groups such as Habitat. Carter told Flynn about the Carter Center’s new Atlanta Project, which was designed to help alleviate poverty in inner cities. 

Jimmy Carter, Ray Flynn and Michael Quinlin. Photo  by Gail Oskin, Courtesy of City of Boston Archives

But mainly, we talked about Northern Ireland and the inherent challenges of a divided society. Carter was well-briefed and up-to-date on the Irish Troubles and was forthright in his views. Reading back on my journal entries from the meeting, Carter’s certitude that “a third party, with recognized neutrality and great stature in the world community, could represent the United States in the peace process,” turned out to be prescient. 

My written summary of Carter’s advice included these bullet points: 

•  The Envoy must be agreed upon by all parties…and must be regarded as neutral, with no prior inclination toward any side. 
• Unofficial ‘pre-mediation’ helps to ascertain the degree of sincerity of the parties and is deployed before negotiation. Mediation then begins on the basis of what the opposing parties were able to agree upon during the unofficial phase. 
•  Special Envoy, not Peace Envoy, is the preferred term, since the latter would suggest the failure of the current players to move forward on their negotiations. Also, ‘Peace’ implies purely a political settlement, whereas ‘Special’ is broader and includes economic development and other incentives that representatives might offer.

Also in my notes, Carter strongly suggested that the process must include “all parties, even the supporters of violence, with the understanding that even they would prefer a better, peaceful life.” 

 Michael Quinlin and Jimmy Carter. Photo by Gail Oskin, Courtesy of City of Boston Archives

 As our conversation came to a close, Carter offered us “the resources of the Carter Center for research and consultation when the Northern Ireland envoy begins to be developed.” We quickly followed up on his offer and began constructive exchange with staff at the Carter Center’s Conflict Resolution program. One recommendation they made was that Andrew Young would be an ideal candidate for the Special Envoy role, given his work with Martin Luther King, Jr and the civil rights movement, his international profile as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and for his efforts to help bring the Olympic Games to Atlanta.

In March, 1993, Mayor Flynn was appointed as U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican and left for Rome in July, but our Irish-American alliance continued to follow Jimmy Carter’s advice, seeking to pursue every credible pathway to peace. We were aware that a fierce debate was playing out in the media and behind closed doors, about whether the United States even warranted a role in brokering peace in Northern Ireland. Irish-American leaders, holding President Clinton to his campaign promises, believed the Administration was going too slow in appointing a Special Envoy. The Irish government favored  American involvement, and insisted on having parity with the British government at the negotiating table. British officials opposed the idea and urged the Clinton Administration and the U.S. State Department not to move too fast, if at all. 

Eventually, on December 1, 1994,  President Clinton named U.S. Senator George Mitchell of Maine as Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland. Mitchell’s remit echoed Jimmy Carter’s advice nearly two years earlier: use pre-mediation to find common ground among the parties; make economic development an incentive to share the dividends of peace; and invite all of the players to have a seat at the table, including physical force advocates. 

Photo courtesy of Michael Quinlin

 After several months on temporary, unpaid assignment, Mitchell’s role in Northern Ireland became permanent. His title changed to Special Envoy, and the rest became history. On April 10, 1998, Mitchell and other key players brokered the Northern Ireland Peace Accord, or the Good Friday Agreement, effectively launching a lasting, though occasionally rocky, era of peace in Northern Ireland. 

Boston Public Library, Photo Courtesy of Michael Quinlin

As a coda to Carter’s Boston visit, his appearance at the Boston Public Library that evening was a resounding success. Boston Globe reporter Dick Lehr wrote, “about 350 people filled an auditorium while an estimated 800 people watched the former-president on closed circuit television from another room.” Bill Bulger, president of both the Massachusetts Senate and of the library’s Board of Trustees, introduced President Carter, and the two men exchanged humorous quips of their own. Afterwards, Carter had a reception at the Harvard Book Store Café in Back Bay, where he signed copies of his book and spoke to well-wishers. The following day, Carter did a book signing at WordsWorth Books in Harvard Square.

From Boston, Carter’s book publicity tour took him cross-country to New York City, Cleveland and San Francisco. Everywhere he went, overflow crowds came to hear him speak. And everywhere he went, Jimmy Carter carried his own luggage. 

 Michael Quinlin was an advisor to Mayor Ray Flynn on Irish Affairs, and a founding member of the grass roots organization, Irish-Americans for Clinton/Gore, during the 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns.