Photos from the May 12 Obama Presidential Center event

  • The Barack Obama Foundation announced May 12 that the South Side of Chicago has been selected as the future home of the Obama Presidential Center. An event at the Gary Comer Youth Center included officials from the city, University of Chicago, as well as members of the local community.

    Photo by Robert Kozloff

  • Marty Nesbitt, chairman of the Barack Obama Foundation, said Chicago was where the future president “really found his home—and his calling.” Nesbitt added that Obama and South Side native Michelle Obama “could have made their home anywhere, but they chose Chicago, the city that represents the best of America: diverse, hardworking, entrepreneurial.”

    Photo by Robert Kozloff

  • UChicago President Robert J. Zimmer said the Obama Presidential Center “will be unlike any that has come before it. It will be the first truly urban presidential library, located in the heart of a great global city.” He underscored the “deep and essential partnerships” with the city and community that helped bring the center to the South Side.

    Photo by Robert Kozloff

  • Derek Douglas, vice president for civic engagement (second from left), gathers with Ald. Pat Dowell and other guests before the May 12 event.

    Photo by Robert Kozloff

  • During her remarks Carol Adams, community resident and cultural historian, called the South Side a “community overflowing with assets, yet also in need of the catalytic engine the Obama Presidential Center will surely be.”

    Photo by Robert Kozloff

  • Lifelong South Side resident Timuel Black, AM’54, talks with reporters following the May 12 announcement of the Obama Presidential Center. The 96-year-old civil rights leader, historian, and former educator has been an ardent supporter of the library coming to Chicago.

    Photo by Robert Kozloff

  • Susan Sher, senior adviser to UChicago President Robert J. Zimmer (background), watches a video at the start of the event.

    Photo by Robert Kozloff

  • (From left) Alumnus Timuel Black, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and Rep. Bobby Rush applaud the video, which included a message from the Obamas.

    Photo by Robert Kozloff

  • The scene at the May 12 announcement of the Obama Presidential Center.

    Photo by Robert Kozloff