The Obama Presidential Center will open soon to the public in Jackson Park, Illinois, an $850-million gleaming monument to one man’s legacy.Yet for the families of Woodlawn, South Shore and the rest of Chicago’s South Side, there are many unhappy faces and concerns.
Some of us wonder how this will better our neighborhood.Ever since the monument was announced, the local residents have dealt with unfulfilled promises, rising rents, displacement fears and continued violence.
We have a right to be skeptical.After all, it’s common sense.For many of us, the varnish that Barack Obama once had as the first Black president of the United States has worn off.
Many of us remember how Obama first came to these streets as a community organizer.What lasting impact did he leave? Very little.
He served as an Illinois state senator.What lasting transformation did he deliver for the South Side? Not much.
He became president of the United States.What measurable turnaround did his policies bring to the communities he once organized? Not much at all. Crime stayed high, poverty persisted, families continued to crumble and too many young lives were still lost.
So, after all that, why should anyone expect his grand presidential center to finally deliver the transformation his own career never did?This isn’t personal.It’s a pattern and an observable one for anyone who wishes to see.
Obama was born in Hawaii and shaped far from these blocks.Yet, he, of anyone, has learned how to use Chicago for his ambitions.
"Obama from the South Side" sounded better than "Obama from Hawaii."CHICAGO RESIDENTS UNIONIZE TO FIGHT POSSIBLE DISPLACEMENT, RENT HIKES OVER OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTERA split image shows the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park on Chicago's South Side and former President Barack Obama.Questions have been raised about the center's endowment funding and long-term financial safeguards as the project prepares to open.
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