Barack and Michelle Obama broke ground on their legacy project in a lakefront Chicago park today after five years of legal battles, and concerns the center would destroy an historic park and force black people out of the neighborhood.
Construction on the Obama Presidential Center along Lake Michigan, near the Obama family home and where the former president started his political career on Chicago's South Side, officially began last month.
But the former president and first lady attended for a ceremonial ground-breaking on Tuesday, and were both photographed shoveling some soil.
Standing near an excavator and other heavy equipment, Obama described how the city's South Side shaped him, first as a community organizer, then as a husband, father and elected official. He said the center was one way of giving back and he hoped it would bring an economic boost to the area and inspire a future generation of leaders.
'We want this center to be more than a static museum or a source of archival research. It won´t just be a collection of campaign memorabilia or Michelle's ballgowns, although I know everybody will come see those,' he joked. 'It won´t just be an exercise in nostalgia or looking backwards. We want to look forward.'
But not everyone shared his enthusiasm.
The project has faced criticisms from local residents, who fear the construction of the new center will gentrify the area and displace black residents who'll no longer be able to afford to live there.
Others have been opposed to the proposed changes to the 540-acre Jackson Park, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places because it hosted the World's Far in 1893.
Former US President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama break ground during the dedication ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center at Jackson Park Jackson Park Tuesday in Chicago, Illinois. The project has been five years in the making
It was selected over nearby Washington Park, which also was proposed by the University of Chicago, where Obama taught constitutional law as he was embarking on a political career that led him to the Illinois Senate, the U.S. Senate and ultimately the White House.
Some neighborhood activists said Tuesday that they were already seeing rising housing prices and would keep pushing for more protections in surrounding areas. Environmental advocates have also objected to the location and the loss of green space. During the event, a plane pulled an aerial banner reading, ' STOP CUTTING DOWN TREES. MOVE OPC.'
The project has been met with opposition by Protect Our Parks, a group that filed a lawsuit against the project in May 2018.
The Obamas were joined during the ceremony by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (left) and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (right)
The sprawling campus will include a museum, public library branch, athletic center, test kitchen and children´s play area
The organization blasted today's groundbreaking ceremony.
'The homecoming of the former
