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His choice of Juneteenth (a play date for June 19) for the formal opening of the Obama Presidential Centre wasn’t a mere coincidence. The day sticks to the memory of African Americans. It all started in Texas in 1865. Every year, the United States government sets the day aside as a federal public holiday to commemorate the liberation of slaves in the country. Incidentally, the 44th president of the nation and the first black American to clinch the presidency, Barack Obama, is also hyper-fixated about the date and its sweet memorial for a classless America. And as a true raconteur with rich symbolism, Obama deploys innuendoes, anecdotes, and allegories to pitch his message.
The location of the Centre in Chicago was well-thought-out. It has a historical significance. The site, Jackson Park, was selected in June 2016 by the Obama Foundation with a ten-year completion plan. In 2017, two US-based urban mobility writers, Judison Picco and Patrick Miner, provided a context about locations of presidential libraries. “Each president has one or more connections to their library’s location: Six libraries are located in the president’s hometown. Ten libraries are in the president’s home state. Seven are located near pre-presidential workplaces. Three are located near where the president retired. It’s fitting that the Obama Presidential Centre will be built in Chicago, as the city is the home (and a former workplace) of President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama.”
In choosing Chicago’s South Side for the eight-storey presidential library estimated at about USD$850 million (apparently the most expensive of such projects), Obama connected the dots with background of his formative years as a community organizer when civil rights movement had waned and mass mobilization appeared more alluring for championing the rights of the neglected. He had turned down some high six-figure jobs and opted for community organizing in Chicago after graduating in political science from Columbia University.
He was hired by Jerry Kellman for the Catholic church-funded Calumet Community Religious Conference (CCRC) in 1985. Through the platform, Obama established tenants’ rights associations, extramural classes for aspiring college students, and job training sessions. Later that year, he transitioned to the spin-off group of CCRC – Developing Communities Project (DCP) and became the executive director. He helped to push the welfarist demands of laid-off steel workers and the agitations of the residents of Altgeld Gardens who wanted a more livable public housing scheme. But in the course of time, he discovered that bureaucracy was not easy to get by. The job was taking more time and there was low sense of actualization. He left in 1988 to study Law at Harvard that would give him leverage in his ambition for political office where he hoped to make greater impact. The glimmer however was when he was elected to Illinois State Senate, and during his 12-year tenure, he was able to pass nearly 300 bills to foster the well-being of children, old people, labour unions, and the poor.
Hence, at the launch of the presidential library, Obama dug up emotions with his oratory prowess, wowed the ecstatic audience with captivating nostalgia, and provoked spellbinding illuminations of the past that is linked to the future. He confessed that it was at the South Side that he found his soulmate and greatest blessing, Michelle; had their two kids; bought their first home, and launched his election to the State Senate. According to him, he found purpose in South Side, fortified his faith, forged a community, and built friendship that would last for a lifetime. At the end, Obama pulled off a flawless function with the attendance of three ex-presidents and their spouses resonating profoundly with the audience. For obvious reasons, the incumbent president, Donald Trump, was not invited.
For me, the height of the event was Michelle’s speech. Indeed, some years back, after reading Obama’s memoir, A Promised Land and noticed how he poured encomiums on Michelle as his greatest cheerleader, I quickly bought Michelle’s book, Becoming Michelle Obama. I read the preliminaries and handed it over to my wife without coming back to finish it. But listening to Michelle’s moving speech at the library launch, I am persuaded to go back and complete the reading.
Michelle was the star of the Juneteenth. She took quality time to fully sing his husband’s praises. Here is an excerpt of her speech: “Barack, you gotta look at me. You told me all those years ago that you couldn’t promise me the world but you could promise me an interesting life. And of course, you outdid yourself and you managed to give me both. I know it hasn’t always been easy but there hasn’t been a single second through this experience that standing by your side hasn’t left me in awe. Eight years in the crucible. Not once did you melt from the heat. Not once did you let it harden you. Instead, you used it to reveal your truest essence. Your stubborn optimism and your unflinching courage. Your dazzling brilliance and unpretentious decency. Your ferocious work ethic and absolutely unshakeable moral fibre…” The whole arena erupted in pure ovation. Michelle brought the crowd to its feet.
At this time, Obama held back his emotions. He fought back tears. He didn’t see the accolade coming from an unbiased authenticity. But Michelle was not done. She enumerated the husband’s key achievements in office, including a Nobel Peace Prize. In her words to Obama, “You did it all with such grace and class and cool that you made the hardest job in the world look like a walk in this beautiful park.” Later, in his speech, Obama noted that Michelle wouldn’t let him see her speech, ab initio. Michelle had told the audience that he knew that the husband, out of modesty, wouldn’t blow his own trumpet, but that she had to. The key lesson is that when spouses are supportive of each other, they build a better future in all spheres of life. Examples abound.
