Steps Towards Democracy • Deborah Hakes Poignant Diary of President Jimmy Carter’s Work in War Torn Nations

“When people are intimidated about having their own opinions, oppression is at hand.” 

“We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles”. 

“My faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I can, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.” 

-Three memorable quotes from President Jimmy Carter 

From 2005 to 2014  photo-journalist and former Saginaw Valley State University graduate Deborah Hakes worked in the Communication office at former President Jimmy Carter’s nonprofit organization The Carter Center.  As part of the public relations team, Hakes traveled to more than 20 countries, a dozen with President and Mrs. Carter, to raise awareness and support of post-conflict countries often holding their first ever democratic elections.\

Because impartial, credible observers play an important role in shaping perceptions about the legitimacy of electoral processes, by serving as observers themselves, the Carters also brought awareness to impoverished places and hope to millions spanning the globe, which opened a rare opportunity for Hakes to document  the legacy of their work through her photography, which has appeared in The New York Times, Associated Press, BBC, and more.

She also remained a trusted member of the extended Carter Center family and was honored to serve as a family photographer for President and Mrs. Carter’s memorial services in 2023 and 2025.

With a passion for amplifying the voices of those who do good and telling stories that drive people to take action, now a fascinating and engaging photographic retrospective of Hakes work with the Carters is on display at SVSU in The Marshall Fredericks Sculpture Gallery with an exhibition titled Steps Towards Democracy • Photographs by Deborah Hakes that will be on display through the end of the year.

The Carter Legacy

When Jimmy Carter passed away at his home in Plains, Georgia close to a year ago on December 29, 2024 at the age of 100, the United States lost a renowned humanitarian who took over the helm of our great nation in the wake of the Watergate Scandal - a dark period in our history that forced Richard Nixon to resign from office and allowed Gerald Ford to pardon Nixon for all the ‘Dirty Tricks’ orchestrated against his political opponents.

During Jimmy Carter's presidency (1977–1981), his soft-spoken and righteous demeanor sought to diminish the flaming tensions of the Cold War period that still dominated our foreign policy, and his pivotal accomplishments included the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel, establishing full diplomatic relations with China, and creating the Departments of Energy and Education.

His  energy policy focused on conservation and developing alternative sources of energy, which included designating over 100 million acres in Alaska as protected land. He also oversaw the deregulation of the airline and trucking industries; however, these moves also were accompanied by economic struggles, including high inflation, and the Iran hostage crisis in the final 14 months of his term, which contributed to his 1980 election defeat.

After his presidency, Jimmy Carter became a prolific humanitarian and advocate, most notably through his work with the Carter Center, which he created to promote democracy and human rights globally, and which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He also famously volunteered for Habitat for Humanity and worked alongside his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, building homes for those in need.

On the Front Lines of Democracy

Currently Deborah Hakes leads marketing and communications for Georgia Public Library Service, and was named Library Journal's 2020 Marketer of the Year. She is a communications leader with expertise in storytelling and building brands for nonprofits, public health, and libraries.. She has spent her career at state, national, and globally-focused nonprofit organizations. At Welcoming America, Hakes built the communications department from the ground up for a growing, new nonprofit focusing on immigrant and refugee inclusion, and conflict resolution.

Recently, The REVIEW sat down with Hakes for this in-depth interview about her work with The Carter Center and the photography showcased in this expansive exhibition.

REVIEW: Let’s begin with your backstory. How did you originally get involved with The Carter Center and why did you want to work with them?

Hakes:  I studied journalism at Michigan State University after I graduated from Saginaw Valley State University. Through Michigan State I applied for a fellowship at the Pointer Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, which is a journalism training institute, and I also applied for a communications internship at the Carter Center and was hired by them in the fall after my fellowship.

During my time at Saginaw Valley, I was double majoring in business and graphic design. I was one of those students who did not know what I wanted to be when I grew up.  Through my graphic design courses, I also took a couple photography courses. One of my graphic design professors had a nonprofit that she worked with that I got interested in through her. I also got very interested in storytelling and photography.

I knew I wanted to study journalism and  Michigan State University had a great journalism program, so I went there and really learned to love telling stories. I realized I was going to graduate and needed to get a real job. I also love to travel internationally and was going to have a journalism degree, but I didn't really want to cover local politics or city council meetings. I knew I  wanted to get abroad, only didn't want to have the insecurity of being an international freelance photographer because they don't have a lot of protections. So I was looking at international nonprofits and The Carter Center popped up

REVIEW: Tell us about your experiences working at The Carter Center. What were the first things that impressed you about this organization that distinguished it and made it unique?

Hakes: It was so amazing stepping into this place. It's run by a former U.S. President and First Lady, and the Carters were so humble and low key. At the same time, there was a lot of formality in the sense there were secret service agents always around and you had to have your ducks in a row and do everything correctly, because there's very high standards when you're dealing with that high level of an individual. But at the same time, President Carter would walk around, greet the staff, and would remember your name.

We had an intern picnic when we went to Plains, Georgia, which is where the Carters are from. He spoke to us at his boyhood farm over fried chicken and biscuits and I got a chance to talk with him. I told him I had been into Africa before. Later, when I was in Liberia as an intern, he remembered that and asked me about it, so I was really impressed with their servant leadership. - using their power for good and being kind to everyone, from speaking with a leader of another country down to their intern. Their character was really impressive.

REVIEW: Being stationed in these post-conflict countries holding their first Democratic elections placed you in rather tenuous territory. What were your impressions about the actions The Carter Center took when working with these countries?

Hakes: Every country was uniquely different. The very first country I went to was Liberia and they were holding their first Democratic election in 14 years. After 14 years of civil war they were a beautiful example of a place that was really done with war, because they were in the most destitute poverty. The civil war had destroyed their entire infrastructure, but they were all working together to move the country forward.

You had people going into villages teaching formal trades like masonry, or how to cook, or how to be a carpenter to help them reintegrate into life and society. You had people going into refugee camps and helping register people to vote.. So you had all this cooperation and you could feel they were ready for peace.

But you could also go to other places that were just as meaningful, only you felt that the peece wasn't going to last. You could feel that it was a little bit more polarized, or a little more charged in the air. I'm going to cite the  Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, places like that, Sudan, where there was hope in the moment, but maybe some aspect of the government or the military was making this place a powder keg. So it was different in different places.

REVIEW: What are some of the images and moments that really stand out from your tenure with The Carter Center that you captured while taking pictures?

Hakes:  I mentioned Liberia because I was there three times with The Carter Center and every time I went I could see the country rebuilding and getting stronger after the Civil War; but that first time  there was no electricity in the entire country, there were hundreds of thousands of people in refugee camps. There were people living in bombed out buildings. There was such poverty, but they were all so dedicated.

The 2005 elections in Liberia were historic. Before I tell you why, let me give you a little more context about Liberia: A country about the size of Ohio, Liberia is one of only two African countries never to have been colonized by the West. But in 1821, tribal kings were forced at gunpoint to sell what became Liberia for the equivalent of $300 to freed men from the US and the American Colonization Society. The former US enslaved individuals and became the elite class, known as Congo People. Liberia also has 28 ethnic groups. Congo people took all the positions of power and access to resources. This triggered alienation and resentment between themselves and indigenous people and led to a divided society, setting the stage for wars and coups to come

There was a moment and a photo in the exhibit of Carter observing a couple people counting ballots by lantern light in Liberia. That photo is so special to me because they're counting ballots by a lantern and there's no electricity. Carter came over and just his presence in the country at that moment was a demonstration of faith in the importance of what was happening; because how often do you see a place like Liberia in the news? His presence was a demonstration that this is important. We are here because we want to see you move forward.

Nepal is another place. I visited a couple times and it’s the most beautiful photogenic country with such lovely people there. There's a photo I took of Carter greeting a little boy and his mother doing the traditional Namaste greeting. That was my last trip with the Carters internationally, so those 2 images of Carter in particular are special to me and kind of bookend my time with the Center.

That being said, all the images are special to me.  There's a woman named Yayu who's in the exhibit and  she's right next to the main Steps Towards Democracy sign. She was the matriarch with the family and along with her husband, Rimmond, they live in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, This was taken back in 2006 and they had had a civil war that left 300,0000 dead from violence, malnutrition, poverty, and they were holding elections.  They had hope that maybe their grandchildren's lives would be better because they had worked hard their whole life. They had sacrificed to put their children through school, studying trades like engineering, but they couldn't get a job in that country because of the corruption and poverty. So she sold cans and bottles of Coke  in front of her house to help buy the family food - making a dollar every couple of days.  I was struck by her and by people in many countries that I visited who despite the many challenges and odds set against them are working to move their country forward and working for hope of a better life.

And in Guinea, which was coming out of 50 years of a military dictatorship in 2010, I interviewed people whose peaceful political protests had been met with violence, rape, and the death of their peers. These interviews were often very heavy, because most of the places I traveled to were emerging from civil conflict or all-out war. I was acutely aware that I would soon fly home to comfort, while they stayed with an uncertain future. This dichotomy weighed on me, but I hoped that by telling their story I could aid by shedding more light upon their plight.

Throughout Monrovia, I saw bombed or burned out buildings packed with families who lived in the empty shells. Monrovia’s fire station had a single truck, but all the metal pieces and wheels had been stripped from it. Children played with toys made from plastic water bottles, with four wheels made of the plastic round caps. Gasoline was sold by kids along roadsides in two-gallon glass jars. Hundreds of thousands of people packed UN refugee camps.

I often felt an amazement at the bravery of people I met, in the face of great challenges, and their willingness to take personal risks to strengthen their country: “So you’re starting a local newspaper even though the last time you did it, the government arrested you?” or “You’re helping register women to vote, even though you face violent threats for doing it?” They put everything on the line to stand up for what they believed was for the good of the country

REVIEW: What did you do after leaving The Carter Center?

Hakes:  I worked with  Welcome in America, which deals with work for immigrant and refugee inclusion for three years. Working there was really interesting because with The Carter Center I had traveled internationally to places that were trying to rebuild after war and then coming, and this organization was working to assist people who couldn’t make it work in their home countries because they were fleeing all the violence.

I thought that was really rewarding because I was telling stories of people who had started businesses. So often immigrants are starting businesses or being very entrepreneurial to succeed over here. Many times they'll have a doctor's degree or are trained engineers in their home country, but they come here and they're cleaning bathrooms because their degree isn't recognized.

I don't want to comment on the current political situation with immigration in our country, but I will say that I believe what President Carter believed - Christian faith directs that you help your neighbor and you help those who are less fortunate than you.

REVIEW: You were also chosen to be the family photographer during the Carter Memorial Services after President Carter and his wife passed in 2023 and 2025. That must have been a very poignant experience.

Hakes: This exhibition is centered on the electoral processes in 20-some countries that I visited, so the photos are all centered on that.  I didn’t include any images from the memorial services because of the more narrow focus of this exhibit, but yes - both services were incredibly powerful and I was honored to be selected.

I had left the Center nine years previously when Mrs. Carter died, so to be still included when they could have hired any photographer in the world was an honor, especially when two of the other photographers I was working with were I think Pulitzer Prize winners. The fact that the Carters because of the trusted relationship I had developed with the family included me was an honor and a privilege that I was grateful for and it was  incredibly meaningful for me to be able to honor them and to say goodbye to them in that way through my work.

The Marshall Fredericks Sculpture Museum is located on the campus of Saginaw Valley State University. Their hours are 11 AM to 5 PM Monday through Saturday.