The Obama Presidential Center’s long-awaited dedication ceremony will take place Thursday on Chicago’s South Side, with major music and public figures set to appear. The event is billed as a celebration for those who helped shape Barack Obama’s path to the Whi
Thursday morning arrives on the South Side of Chicago with a kind of ceremonial electricity—nine years of planning and construction compressed into a single moment, and a roster built to signal that this is more than a building.
The Obama Presidential Center will hold its dedication ceremony Thursday. described as a gathering meant to bring “global leaders. artists. changemakers. and citizens” into one place. Musical performances are scheduled, and appearances are set to include Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, and John Legend, among others. Nearly a decade in the making. the center’s opening weekend is designed to match its message of hope and change. starting with the star-studded dedication and turning Friday toward a key milestone: the museum opening to the public.
The guest list carries its own weight. Every living president is expected to be in attendance except one: President Trump. During a press preview in early June. Valerie Jarrett—longtime Obama White House aide and current CEO of the Obama Foundation—said Trump is welcome to visit the museum and they would be happy to give him a tour. But she also said he simply was not invited to the dedication.
“I can tell you that this is a celebration for those who helped get President Obama where he is. And this is a gift to them,” Jarrett said. “And so the people who will be here are the people who’ve been helpful along the way.”
The center itself spans more than 19 acres on Chicago’s south side, organized as a campus with a towering museum at its heart. Curators describe the museum as something meant to influence change and offer hope. It also includes a close look at what life was like in the Obama White House.
There’s more than exhibits. The campus houses a branch of the Chicago Public Library, and an NBA regulation-size basketball court. A Women’s Garden—created as tribute to female leaders in Chicago—adds a distinctly local note to a project tied to the nation’s political past. Visitors will also find an auditorium. a media suite that visitors can use. a Wetland Walk. a fruit and vegetable garden. and a playground.
Organizers emphasize that the center is not a presidential library. It will not house former President Obama’s presidential documents. which remain at the largely digital Barack Obama Presidential Library run by the National Archives. Still, the center has some records and artifacts on display in its museum on loan.
The sequence of decisions around the dedication and the museum—who is welcomed on site. who is invited to the ceremony. and what documentation lives elsewhere—will be closely watched by anyone who cares about how political history is curated in the public square. Thursday’s celebration will unfold with music and ceremony. but it is the boundary Jarrett drew between visiting and being invited that frames the moment for the people who will notice. and for the people who won’t.
Obama Presidential Center Barack Obama Michelle Obama Valerie Jarrett Obama Foundation Chicago dedication ceremony Bruce Springsteen Christina Aguilera John Legend President Trump NBA court Chicago Public Library National Archives
So Trump wasn’t invited but he can still visit? Sounds like weird PR.
Springsteen AND John Legend?? Ok cool, but why does everything have to be political like all the time. Also Chicago parking is gonna be a nightmare.
I don’t get it, they said Trump’s welcome to tour the museum, but not the dedication. Isn’t that still like inviting? Lol. Seems like they’re just trying to pick a fight.
Every living president except Trump… so basically they’re doing it as a slap in the face. Plus Christina Aguilera is there but what about local Chicago artists? The title says without Trump but I’m hearing he might show up anyway.