James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician, philanthropist, and former farmer who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. Leroy Johnson, a black state Senator, voiced his support for Carter, saying, 'I understand why he ran that kind of ultra-conservative campaign. ... I don't believe you can win this state without being a racist.' During his presidential campaign in April 1976, Carter responded to an interviewer and said, 'I have nothing against a community that is ... trying to maintain the ethnic purity of their neighborhoods.' His remark was intended as supportive of open-housing laws, but specifying opposition to government efforts to 'inject black families into a white neighborhood just to create some sort of integration.'