People aren’t looking for perpetual anger and division,’ Obama inspires hope at Presidential Center opening
Barack Obama is the first Black president of the United States. Today’s grand opening ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side further cemented that history into America’s story.
Flaws and all, which Obama wasn’t afraid to mention in his speech, it’s undeniable that the 44th president is one of the greatest orators of this lifetime. When he took the podium after a nearly two-hour slate of speeches and introductions, Obama reminded the audience and world, alike, of the hope he inspired during his eight years in office.
The forthcoming 250th birthday of the U.S. exemplifies, he said, “just how radical the whole idea of self government was back in 1776.” He explained how human history, at the time, was a tale of conquests and hierarchies where the strong dominated the weak.
In what seemed like a jab at President Donald J. Trump, who has likened himself to a king, Obama reminded everyone of the point of the Revolutionary War and the Constitution: “There will be no kings or lords, or serfs or subjects,” Obama said to applause.
Of course, he said, democracy is flawed — considering that such revolutionary individuals intentionally overlooked slavery and kept the inhumane ownership of Black people within its lawbook. But, he explained, that the country’s founding fathers had the “foresight and genius” to give the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as a blueprint for future generations to make a more perfect union.
“Despite all of our differences, we can see each other and understand one another and make common cause together. That’s what I hope every visitor to this center takes away from their experience,” Obama said.
Celebrities, political and community dignitaries and more gathered at the Obama Presidential Center today for a star-studded grand opening ceremony in the John Lewis Plaza. Performers ranged from Jennifer Hudson and John Legend to Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder.
The Obama Presidential Center officially opens on June 19. The 19-acre campus is situated in the Jackson Park neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, in what Obama described as the area where he first drove into Chicago when he moved to the city in 1985.
Tickets to the museum are sold out through October, as of publishing time. However, the Obama Foundation said more tickets will be released soon.
Obama said the museum portion of the Obama Presidential Center doesn’t just tell the story of him and his wife Michelle Obama, a South Side native. The museum also tells the story of the country’s origins, the protests and struggles and people who fought for equality and justice, and the legacies of leaders who came before him.
Obama ended his speech with references to the uncertainty of the Big Tech industry unfolding before the country right now. He criticized the tech for celebrating inequality and creating an algorithm that makes it hard to tell a truth from a life, that fans prejudices and that makes people more distrustful and withdrawn and isolated from one another.
“I do know this, when we lose faith in each other, when we stop believing that voting matters, that citizenship matters… then we give away our power to decide our own futures. We open the door to the most ruthless, or the most careless, or the most fearful among us,” he said.
Obama praised the next generation of leaders who, he said, is ready to write America’s next chapter.
“I do not believe that is the story of America that prevails in the end,” Obama said about the current political climate.
Earlier this month, The TRiiBE attended a press preview of the museum with Contributing Political Reporter Monroe Anderson. Watch his interviews with Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett and more.