Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama broke ground on the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Tuesday. This was the beginning one of the final steps in the long-delayed project.
Former President spoke about his desire to make the center more than just a “static museum.” Instead, for it to strengthen democratic ideas at a time when Americans are “seeing more division and increasingly bitter conflict.”
“A politics that feeds anger and resentment towards those who aren’t like us and starts turning away from democratic principles in favor of tribalism,” he said.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who, along with the former first couple attended the event too. They ceremonially overturning a shovelful of dirt.
Obama selected Chicago because, it is the place where “all the strands of my life came together.” He noted that he began his career in the city as a community organizer, launched his political career there and, eventually, claimed victory in the 2008 presidential campaign. The city is also where the Obamas met.
