SouthernWorldwide.com – Visitors celebrating the opening weekend of the Barack Obama Presidential Center have lauded the 44th president’s tenure as a beacon of unifying, scandal-free “Black excellence.” They also expressed dismay at the current state of the U.S. under President Donald Trump.
The presidential center’s inauguration commenced with a private, star-studded ceremony and concert on Thursday evening. The 19.3-acre campus subsequently opened its doors to the public on Friday, coinciding with Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans in 1865.
One visitor, Ashley Woods, shared her enthusiasm, stating, “Just knowing that Chicago doesn’t always get the best rep, to know that we’ve had a Black president come from this place, and then to memorialize his legacy is just great.”
Woods was joined by another visitor, Tillman, who added, “To know that [Obama] was going to try to do at least something for his people, that meant a lot to me and being here means a lot.”
“And I think, to piggyback off that, I think the legacy is Black excellence,” Woods continued. “Again, growing up in a place like Chicago, you don’t really think you can do much besides being a rapper or, you know, going into sports, but to see that somebody actually made it to the top per se, they were able to run the nation, there was very little scandal around him and his family, like it just shows you that we can be more than what America tells us we can be.”
Sheryl Rogers and Peggy Neely-Harris traveled from St. Louis to partake in the weekend’s events.
Neely-Harris echoed these sentiments, describing the new presidential center as a symbol of hope and renewal, a “light in this present darkness.”
“[Obama] has left an excellent example of how you should live, what type of character you should have and the love of family and community,” Rogers elaborated. “You can see love just exudes from them, and I love to see love in action.”
“No scandal,” she emphasized.
However, Obama’s presidency was marked by several significant scandals and controversies.
One such incident involved the seizure of records from reporter James Rosen, which was authorized by a judge. An FBI affidavit seeking the warrant controversially labeled Rosen a likely criminal “co-conspirator” in a violation of the Espionage Act.
Additionally, Obama faced accusations of government weaponization when his administration’s IRS allegedly delayed the processing of tax-exempt nonprofit applications for conservative grassroots organizations opposed to his agenda.
Groups bearing names such as “Tea Party” or “Patriot” reportedly experienced lengthy delays, spanning months and even years, in their attempts to formalize their organizations.
Operation Fast and Furious was another notable scandal during Obama’s term.
This operation saw ATF agents intentionally permit illegal straw purchases of firearms near the U.S. border with Mexico. The aim was to track these weapons and apprehend high-level cartel leaders. However, the agency under the Obama administration failed to monitor at least 2,000 of these firearms, which subsequently fell into the hands of dangerous individuals.
Tragically, one of the weapons involved in this ill-fated sting was used to kill Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in 2010.
In 2012, then-Attorney General Eric Holder refused to comply with a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee investigating the matter, preventing the committee from accessing thousands of pages of relevant records. He later became the first U.S. cabinet official to be held in contempt of Congress, though the Obama Department of Justice did not prosecute him.
Obama also authorized the extrajudicial drone strike killings of four Americans with terror ties in Yemen, actions taken without due process.
Reflecting on Obama’s legacy, one visitor stated, “I think Barack Obama’s legacy is and will continue to be the inspiration of togetherness, of the power of what can be done and what can be created when we all come together.”
“It’s absolutely something that we are missing today. I’ve seen divisions in this country in ways that I’ve never seen before, and I was reminded of just how vast those divisions are being out here today, because it’s the first time I’ve felt this closeness since he ran for office in 2008.”
An emotional Kia Ware, from Virginia, expressed her sadness regarding the direction of the U.S. since Obama’s departure from office.
“It makes me sad because I was so proud of everything that was accomplished during that legacy in terms of, you know, fighting for vulnerable people and vulnerable lands and protection of so many things that are now being erased forever, and I feel like it’s setting us back,” she said.
Ware described Obama as a continuing “powerhouse” within the Democratic Party and suggested that those who believe in his legacy hope for his return to influence.
“I guess it just means, like for me, I just am feeling very thankful that we have those eight years of history for putting women forward, putting minorities forward,” she stated. “I felt like that unification, just seeing all people of different backgrounds and ages and generations here, I get that same feeling.”
