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.
The TRiiBE Team is on the ground covering today’s event. Follow along in our Instagram Stories.
Below are some highlights from the day.
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The Roots kicked off today’s ceremony.
Jennifer Hudson sang the National Anthem and “The Impossible Dream.” As the song came to an end, she made space to look at the Obamas and say “congratulations.”
Actress Marsai Martin hosted the watch party on Midway Plaisance. She interviewed a woman who traveled here from Africa.
Singer Christina Aguilera sang a rendition of Louis Armstrong’s “What A Wonderful World.”
Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder performed an original song, “Better Believe,” that he created with some youth from the surrounding South Side neighborhood.
“I love that tan suit,” former President Barack Obama said while hugging Obama Foundation Chair Marty Nesbitt, who presented on stage. Several celebrities wore tan suits to honor the time Obama shocked the world by wearing a tan suit while in office. “I don’t know about the rest of y’all, but I thought he looked pretty good wearing his,” Nesbitt said.
R&B singer John Legend said, “From Chicago’s own Donny Hathaway,” as he sat at the piano on stage to sing his 1973 anthem, “Someday We’ll All Be Free.” Legend then brought out the South Side’s own Common and the United Voice of Chicago to sing “Glory,” their award-winning theme song from the 2014 film Selma.
Addison Malone, a USC sophomore born and raised on South Side, came on stage to introduce former First Lady Michelle Obama. She talked about the moment being “a tremendous honor.” Malone attended Lindbloom on the South Side and told the story of going to speak at an event in New York City while in high school. Obama was in attendance at the event. Malone added that Mrs. Obama is living proof that “when you’re a Black girl from the South Side of Chicago, there’s no limit to what you can achieve.”
Former First Lady Michelle Obama walked on stage and thanked everyone in the crowd before, as she said, fully singing her husband’s praises. “Barack, you gotta look at me,” she said looking at the 44th president of the United States. He kept his eyes closed for a bit, holding back tears.
“Eight years in the crucible, and not once did you melt from the heat. Not once did you let it harden you,” Obama said to her husband.
“You were unflappable at every turn,” she continued. She went through a long list of his accomplishments and the pressure points of his presidency. Specifically, she mentioned the time critics gasped at Obama’s comforting words after the tragic killing of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon,” Obama said at the time.
The crowd at the Obama Presidential Center stood and clapped when the former first lady spoke about 44 winning a Nobel Peace Prize; some even laughed, considering Trump’s desire for his own.
“Deep down in our hearts and souls, we know right from wrong. We know selflessness from greed,” the former first lady said. “Failing to see the humanity in all people puts us all in a slipper slope and once that slide starts, there’s no telling where it stops.”
Obama wiped away a few tears as his wife preached about his accolades. She ended by saying the Obama Presidential Center is a living testament to the power of choice.
“Hope is a choice. Whether or not we use our voices to speak up is a choice. Voting is a choice. Being a decent human being is a choice,” she said.
Rock band U2’s Bono sang to former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems sang “Me & U.”
Latin singer Marc Anthony sang “Vivir Mi Vida.”
Hawaiian Educator Punihei Lipe introduced former President Barack Obama: “From the shores of his youth to the city that rose with him.”
Obama took the stage, greeting the crowd in the John Lewis Plaza, those watching from the nearby Midway Plaisance and those watching from home around the globe. “Hello Chicago. Sweet home, Chicago.”
Obama began by thanking those who helped nurture his organizing roots and political career. He thanked Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. “Thank you for making this center possible,” he said to them.
Then he turned his attention to his wife. “To Michelle, she did me wrong. She wouldn’t let me see her speech. She knew she was going to mess me up and she did it anyway. But she’s always made me better and I could not be more grateful,” he said.
Then, his daughters, Malia and Sasha. “What more can i say? You mean everything to me.”
Much of Obama’s speech juxtaposed the hope many Americans felt during his eight years in the White House to the divisive political climate set under President Donald J. Trump’s second time in office.
Bruce Springsteen took the stage. “Hi, I’m Bruce, and I’m so glad to be here this afternoon,” he began. “This is the ‘Land of Hope and Dreams.’”
Springsteen then introduced the great Stevie Wonder. “Are you ready? Let’s get it,” 76-year-old Wonder said before going into his 1980 hit, “All I Do.” Next, he went right into “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.” Some folks in the crowd broke out into the Electric Slide, in true Black cookout fashion.
“I want to share with you all something that you need to know,” Wonder said. He talked about a friend bringing Obama to his studio in 2004 to ask him to perform while he was running for senator.
“In my spirit, I know that you’re running to be senator, but I see you as being the president. I said let’s pray on that. And so we prayed on it,” Wonder told the audience about his encounter with Obama. “I imagined it then and now we’re celebrating it.”
He continued: “Never let fear put your fears to sleep. Never.”
Wonder invited the day’s performers to join him on stage to sing. “We knew, and I knew in the spirit, that positivity was going to win,” Wonder said as he began playing his soulful 1973 jam “Higher Ground.” Common rapped a freestyle over the beat towards the end of the performance, which wrapped up the day.
