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Barack and Michelle Obama will attend presidential center groundbreaking in Chicago's Jackson Park
Barack and Michelle Obama will attend presidential center groundbreaking in Chicago’s Jackson Park Tuesday: ‘This is not your grandparents’ presidential library’
Five years ago, then-President Barack Obama chose Chicago’s Jackson Park as the future site of his presidential center, stirring the South Side with the promise of long-overdue transformation and the distinction of being the place where the story of the nation’s first Black president and first lady is told.
On Tuesday, the Obamas will return to Chicago and at last kick off construction during a ceremonial groundbreaking with Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the Obama Foundation announced. The celebration follows a protracted journey that began in 2016 and, thanks to a confluence of obstacles, at times left supporters to wonder if dirt would ever be turned.
But with a date for the ceremony formally inked in, the Obama Presidential Center will take an important step toward its debut on the South Side, where Barack Obama was first elected to public office and Michelle Obama grew up.
“Michelle and I could not be more excited to break ground on the Obama Presidential Center in the community that we love,” Barack Obama said in a video posted Friday. “With your help, we can make the center a catalyst for economic opportunity, a new world-class destination on the South Side and a platform for young people to drive change. So let’s celebrate Chicago.”
On Tuesday, the Obamas will return to Chicago and at last kick off construction during a ceremonial groundbreaking with Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the Obama Foundation announced. The celebration follows a protracted journey that began in 2016 and, thanks to a confluence of obstacles, at times left supporters to wonder if dirt would ever be turned.
But with a date for the ceremony formally inked in, the Obama Presidential Center will take an important step toward its debut on the South Side, where Barack Obama was first elected to public office and Michelle Obama grew up.
“Michelle and I could not be more excited to break ground on the Obama Presidential Center in the community that we love,” Barack Obama said in a video posted Friday. “With your help, we can make the center a catalyst for economic opportunity, a new world-class destination on the South Side and a platform for young people to drive change. So let’s celebrate Chicago.”
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-barack-obama-presidential-center-groundbreaking-chicago-20210924-qng2tiia6vd6jl6xgic5j36giq-story.html