The Obama Presidential Center opened earlier this month, nearly 10 years after Barack Obama left the White House.
Although it was a long time coming, in many ways its opening arrives just when we need it.
A visit to the center on the south side of Chicago is a vivid reminder of what we had when Obama was in the White House, and what we have lost.
Tickets to the center are sold out through November, but I was able to secure a couple when they first went on sale in May, and I attended just eight days after it opened.
I have visited dozens of presidential sites and most of the presidential libraries in recent years. Obama’s is different.
While President Franklin Roosevelt’s was document-heavy, for example, featuring many important papers with hand-written notes to and from him, Obama’s relies on video. There are some documents on display – a copy of the Affordable Care Act, for example – but the bulk of the story is told effectively in Obama’s own words via video or through snippets of news coverage. I got chills again watching news stations call state after state for Obama on election night 2008.
Obama’s center is contextualized. It places the election of the nation’s first Black president in the context of the long struggle for equal rights.
It is action-oriented.
One exhibit explains what democracy is – freedom with responsibilities. Throughout the center, visitors are invited to consider what they can do to advance the cause of freedom – start a petition, form a group, and so on.
It is kid-friendly.
Beyond the outdoor playground, the Chicago Public Library Branch, and the Home Court basketball court (in a separate building on the campus), the exhibits in the center itself include things like a string of panels explaining life in the White House through the eyes of the Obama family’s dogs, Bo and Sunny.
It is human.
Obama and the first lady share the story of their upbringings with pieces of their childhood, family photos, college notebooks, and more. Seeing Barack’s kindergarten handprint reminds visitors that in so many ways, this man whom his critics tried to paint as exotic and foreign, really shares a lot with us.
And it contrasts with today’s White House occupant by subtly shaming what is there now.
For example, we are reminded that:
• The White House grounds used to be beautiful. The area didn’t look like an abandoned construction site with a hole in the ground where the East Wing once stood, or a concrete slab where the Rose Garden was.
• The Oval Office was gracious and dignified, befitting the leader of the free world. The walls were not covered with cheap, garish, gold doo-dads superglued to the walls.
• Obama and Michelle hosted hundreds of events at the White House. There is no record of them mentioning they needed a ballroom.
• Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump didn’t. You can see Obama’s medal and touch a replica. It’s one of the few mentions of an honor bestowed on Obama and even it is understated. The center let his achievements speak for themselves. There was no constant bragging about how great Obama was.
• Obama welcomed children into the White House, reminding us it is the people’s house. He and Michelle interacted with them with authenticity – the Kid President sitting at the Resolute Desk, Michelle doing jumping jacks on the South Lawn with children to try to set a record, or Obama bending down to let a visiting child touch his hair.
• Obama respected and promoted science, rather than undercutting it. The marshmallow cannon made by a student and exhibited in the White House science fair is on display, along with a photo of Obama’s astonished face when it shot a marshmallow across the room.
• Obama attracted the nation’s top entertainers, from Aretha Franklin to Stevie Wonder and so many others who would not go near the White House now. He showcased and celebrated American culture at every opportunity. Has-beens like Kid Rock were nowhere to be seen.
• Obama and the First Lady stressed healthy eating long before MAHA came along, planting a garden on the White House grounds to teach children where food came from and to supply the White House with fresh produce. They didn’t live on Big Macs while telling kids to eat their carrots.
• Obama was energetic and healthy. He didn’t fall asleep in meetings, have bruises on his hands or swollen ankles. Instead, he played pickup basketball against NBA stars Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Obama played golf with Tiger Woods, but no one ever accused him of cheating at the game.
• Obama could speak and write in complete sentences that, although eloquent, were easily understood by everyday Americans. He never tweeted, “Despite the constant negative press covfefe.”
• Obama understood human suffering. He empathized with family members of gun violence victims or people without health care. He never said, “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody.”
• Obama included people. He didn’t divide them. His logo was a circle that let everybody in and left nobody out. The gallery devoted to the 2008 campaign stresses how common folks took the campaign into their own hands, making their own campaign memorabilia, registering first-time voters, persuading reluctant friends and relatives to go vote or caucus, and much more.
After a few hours at the center, you will wonder, can we ever get these things back?
Yes.
Yes, we can!
If you go to the Obama Presidential Center and Museum, here are some things to know:
• You should reserve your tickets online. They are $30 apiece and have a set entry time. Tickets are sold out through the summer and fall but more will soon be on sale for November through January at https://www.obama.org/visit/museum/. When you arrive, there is a line outside, but it moves quickly.
• A free audio-guide is available. Most people did not use them, but they did have a short introduction to each gallery by Tom Hanks. A free tour and some paid tours are also available.
• There are four galleries: Toward a More Perfect Union, Working for the Common Good, The People’s House, and We the People, plus the Sky Room with views of the surrounding area. The first two, about the early lives of Barack and Michelle, and the accomplishments of Obama’s two terms, are the most information dense and will take the most time.
• The center website suggests two hours is adequate for a visit, but we were there four hours and wished we could have stayed longer.
• The lines to the gift shop and cafes were long. We had to skip visiting them, but we were able to pick up a few souvenirs from a cart in the courtyard.
• Home Court, a full-sized basketball court paying homage to Obama’s love of the game and promoting physical activity, is not in the museum portion of the center, but in a separate athletic and community center south of the museum on the center’s 20-acre campus.
• Some underground parking is available at the center, but you will need to use your phone to pay. EV charging stations also are available.
