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Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(107,099 posts)
Mon Feb 21, 2022, 04:06 PM Feb 2022

Why the Obama Presidential Center won't be naming all spaces after donors

CHICAGO — After years of local pushback and a lengthy federal review process, construction on the Obama Presidential Center is underway, and the Obama Foundation has revealed it plans to name some spaces within the multibuilding complex after prominent civil rights and social justice advocates – not donors.

A groundbreaking ceremony on the South Side was held in September with former President Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The center, located in Jackson Park along Lake Michigan, is set to open to the public in 2025.

In early December, the foundation released information about donors and said donations will be used to dedicate public spaces to "civil rights icons, social justice heroes and changemakers in public service, business and entertainment."

The foundation said it is "seeking to change the paradigm around naming public spaces" within the center, using it as "an opportunity to give donors the option to honor and elevate the names of those who have fought for a more just and equitable world," according to its website.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/why-the-obama-presidential-center-won-t-be-naming-all-spaces-after-donors/ar-AAU7pWa

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