Locals Rip Obama Over Latest Update To Controversial Presidential Library
Recent updates to the Obama Presidential Center have drawn criticism from some residents following the release of new renderings and details about the project’s design and construction plans. The Obama Foundation unveiled revised renderings this week intended to show how the center’s exterior and surrounding space will look once completed.
But the unusual design of former President Barack Obama’s new presidential center in Chicago is facing fresh criticism, this time due to complaints that a newly added inscription on the building is nearly illegible.
The text, which comes from a speech Obama gave in Selma, Alabama, in 2015 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic civil rights marches, has left many people squinting and scratching their heads because of its layout and the way it wraps around the structure.
“I’m outside the Obama Center museum tower right now. The new letters — an excerpt from Obama’s Selma speech — are tough read to me, giving off the lorem ipsum vibes,” Chicago Sun-Times architecture critic Lee Bay wrote on LinkedIn, a reference to the Latin placeholder text often used in graphic design templates.
“The words are cut off. The Ts, Ls, and Is are indistinguishable,” former investment banker and best-selling author John LeFevre noted on X, adding that the structure “Looks like a trash can.”
Temple University Professor Jacob Shell also said that the E’s are also “indistinguishable from F’s,” and that “multiple words get disjointed — not just on one plane but two.”
“Truly, one of the most headache-inducing reading experiences I’ve ever had,” Shell said after trying to read the script.
“They somehow managed to make the Obama presidential library even uglier,” conservative influencer Johnny Maga said bluntly. “My gosh.”
In addition to the eyesore, many residents of Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood, near the Obama Presidential Center, face a difficult situation: they must either pay more rent or risk losing their house.
At Chaney Braggs Apartments, located at 65th Street and Stony Island Avenue, the nearly two dozen tenants announced the formation of a union.
According to the group, a potential buyer intends to either renovate or completely demolish their building. Rent would increase in either case.
According to the tenants, a few other organizations joined them on Thursday morning in an effort to maintain the affordability of their apartments.
“I want to stay right where I’m at. I don’t want to be forced out. I don’t want to be told I have to leave. I want to be able to stay,” said resident Kyana Butler. “I want to be able to let my daughter, and I want her to grow up in the same building I grew up in.”
Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Obama Foundation and a senior adviser during President Obama’s two terms, highlighted that he has played an active role in shaping the design of his library.
“I wish that people could be a fly on the wall to see how many times in the course of the day that I hear from President Obama about ideas for the center, tweaks, programming, and what we can do for the design,” Jarrett said when asked.
part 1
The black duffel bag hit the porch with a heavy thud.
Its zipper burst open.
Everything inside spilled across the wooden boards.
At first, nobody moved.
Then Sheriff Daniels stepped forward.
A black handgun slid across the porch until it stopped against the front step.
His hand instantly went to his holster.
"Nobody move!"
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
The cameraman zoomed in.
Beside the handgun lay dozens of unopened envelopes.
Every one of them carried military postage.
Every one of them was addressed to:
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Parker
The return address read:
Sergeant Emily Parker
Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.
The dates stretched across four years.
Some envelopes were faded from heat.
Others were still sealed with military tape.
Mrs. Ellis whispered, "Those are her letters..."
Pastor Ray slowly picked one up from the porch.
"It hasn't even been opened."
Another envelope.
Still sealed.
Then another.
Twenty.
Thirty.
More than anyone could count.
Mr. Greer's face turned pale.
"I delivered every one of those."
Nobody answered.
Inside the house came the sound of something crashing.
Emily couldn't breathe.
"I wrote every month."
Her voice barely carried.
"I never missed a birthday... never missed Christmas... never missed Mom's anniversary after her surgery."
She looked toward the windows.
"You never read them?"
Silence.
Sheriff Daniels carefully picked up the pistol using a handkerchief.
"This weapon isn't loaded."
Deputy Harris stepped beside him.
"Serial number's still intact."
Daniels stared.
His expression changed.
"I know this gun."
The deputy frowned.
"What?"
"It was reported stolen."
"When?"
"Almost six years ago."
He looked toward the Parker house.
"By Richard Parker."
The entire crowd turned toward the front door.
Inside, someone shouted.
"No!"
Then another crash.
Mr. Greer suddenly remembered something.
"I have something."
He hurried back to his mail truck.
People watched him disappear into the driver's seat.
A moment later he returned carrying a thick leather folder.
"I wasn't sure I'd ever need this."
He handed it to the sheriff.
Daniels opened it.
Inside were photocopies.
Certified mail receipts.
Postal forwarding forms.
Rejected delivery notices.
Every document carried Richard Parker's signature.
The sheriff flipped page after page.
"Refused."
"Refused."
"Refused."
"Forward to sender."
Again.
Again.
Again.
Mr. Greer's voice trembled.
"Four years ago your parents came to the post office."
"They told us you were dangerous."
"They said if any military mail arrived, they didn't want it."
Emily stared at him.
"They said that?"
He nodded sadly.
"They claimed you'd threatened the family before you went away."
Mrs. Ellis burst into tears.
"Oh my God..."
Pastor Ray slowly removed his glasses.
"I told the congregation to pray for Richard and Linda."
"I thought they were grieving."
Across the street, whispers spread through the neighbors.
"I remember..."
"They said she assaulted someone."
"I heard she'd robbed a store."
"No... they told me she'd attacked her own father."
Every rumor.
Every lie.
Every cruel glance Emily had imagined while overseas...
Suddenly made sense.
She felt her knees weaken.
Mr. Greer caught her before she fell.
"You don't owe these people an apology."
Emily wiped away tears.
"I kept wondering why nobody answered."
She laughed bitterly.
"I thought everyone had forgotten me."
The sheriff continued examining the folder.
Then he stopped.
One document had a different heading.
Application for Declaration of Death in Absentia.
Daniels frowned.
"What is this?"
He read farther.
The filing claimed Emily Parker had been "missing with probable criminal activity."
Attached was a request to transfer ownership of her college trust, vehicle title, and military survivor benefits.
The application carried two signatures.
Richard Parker.
Linda Parker.
The crowd gasped.
"They tried to declare her legally dead?" someone whispered.
"No..."
"They couldn't..."
Emily's head snapped toward the house.
"My college trust?"
Her father had promised that account would always belong to her.
She had worked two jobs through high school because they insisted every dollar mattered.
Now...
Her stomach twisted.
They had tried to erase her completely.
Inside the house, another loud bang echoed.
Deputy Harris looked toward the sheriff.
"They're moving."
Daniels nodded once.
"Cover the back."
Two deputies sprinted around the sides of the property.
The cameraman followed until another officer pushed him back.
Suddenly the upstairs curtains flew open.
Richard Parker appeared for only a second.
His face was drenched with sweat.
He looked directly at Emily.
Not with guilt.
With hatred.
"You should've stayed gone!" he screamed.
Then he disappeared.
Mrs. Parker's terrified voice echoed from somewhere inside.
"Richard, stop!"
Another crash.
Glass shattered.
Deputy Collins shouted from the backyard.
"Sheriff!"
"They're trying to get out!"
The crowd surged toward the sidewalk before officers forced everyone back.
Sheriff Daniels drew a slow breath.
"This isn't about an escaped convict anymore."
He looked at the house.
"This is now a criminal investigation."
Emily stood frozen.
Four years she'd dreamed about coming home.
Four years imagining hugs.
Laughter.
A family dinner.
Instead...
Her own parents had spent those same four years convincing an entire town that she was a criminal.
And judging by the fear inside that house...
The lies were only beginning to unravel.
