Juneteenth celebrations kick off as Obama Presidential Center opens in Chicago

By — Jamie Stengle, Associated Press Jamie Stengle, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/juneteenth-celebrations-kick-off-as-obama-presidential-center-opens-in-chicago Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Juneteenth celebrations kick off as Obama Presidential Center opens in Chicago Nation Jun 19, 2026 10:54 AM EDT DALLAS (AP) — As people gather across the U.S. to celebrate Juneteenth on Friday, former President Barack Obama's presidential center will open its doors to the public for the first time. Located on a sprawling campus on Chicago's South Side, the center for the nation's first Black president has been designed to inspire people to make the change they want to see in their own communities. It's the kind of contemplation that also comes as Americans gather for Juneteenth, which celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S. READ MORE: A beginner's guide to celebrating Juneteenth The holiday marks June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Texas at the end of the Civil War with an order declaring the state's enslaved people were free with "absolute equality" 2 1/2 years after the Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people in the South. "Juneteenth represents not just a commemoration of the end of slavery but it's also part of the ongoing struggle for absolute equality and that ideal in American life," said W. Caleb McDaniel, a Rice University professor and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Sweet Taste of Liberty." Obama's presidential center in Chicago Several days of events have been planned for the grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center, including a dedication ceremony held Thursday. The center's public opening also arrives as a symbolic convergence of legacy and liberation. The nation is grappling with deepening political division and renewed questions about the arc of racial progress as the Supreme Court hollowed out the Voting Rights Act, endangering Black political representation in Congress. Former U.S. presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and former first ladies Jill Biden, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush, and former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pose for a photo ahead of the dedication ceremony at the Obama Presidential Center, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., June 18, 2026. Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Pool via Reuters. The nearly 20-acre (8-hectare) campus includes a museum featuring a life-sized replica of the Oval Office, a garden designed by former first lady Michelle Obama complete with lettuce and strawberry plants, a professional-grade basketball court, a picnic area with grills and a new branch of the Chicago Public Library. In addition to spaces designed to bring people together, the campus that's expected to draw as many as 1 million visitors annually aims to also encourage personal reflection. Louise Bernard, the museum's director, has said they're "inviting