Mr. Obama, 60, a Democrat who left office in January 2017, said that the presidential center would become a catalyst for job growth and economic development in the place where he came of age as a politician, husband and father. The project, he said, would also turn Chicago’s South Side into a destination not just for people to learn about his presidency but also for future leaders.
“Chicago is where I found the purpose that I had been seeking,” said Mr. Obama, who in 2008 became the first Black person elected to the U.S. presidency.
In a departure from similar projects recognizing former presidents, the center won’t actually be a presidential library. It won’t house Mr. Obama’s presidential papers, which will be digitized — a decision that has been a sore point for some presidential observers. Mr. Obama envisioned that the center would host concerts, cultural events, lectures, trainings and summits.
“We want this center to be more than a static museum or a source of archival research,” Mr. Obama said. “It won’t just be a collection of campaign memorabilia or Michelle’s ball gowns, although I know everybody will come see those. It won’t just be an exercise in nostalgia or looking backwards. We want to look forward.”
Construction of the presidential center, whose estimated price tag has soared from initial projections of $500 million to $830 million, is expected to take four years.
Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/28/us/obama-presidential-center-chicago.html
Comments