Obama celebrates opening of his presidential museum with call to citizenship

By Renee Hickman and Steve Gorman

CHICAGO, June 18 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Barack Obama, celebrating a new museum and civic center dedicated to his eight years in the White House, called on Americans to resist the forces of political cynicism and division and instead embrace "our shared responsibilities as citizens."

The 44th U.S. president, who left office nearly a decade ago, led a crowd of thousands on Thursday attending a music-filled grand ‌opening of the Obama Presidential Center, a lakefront Chicago campus of granite, nature and art honoring and archiving his administration.

He was joined by his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, and a list of dignitaries that included three ‌other former U.S. presidents, several foreign heads of state and a cluster of A-list recording artists, among them Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen.

The $850 million landmark development, which opens to the public on Friday, ranks as the greatest single investment in a century for Chicago's long-neglected South Side, where the Obamas were married ​and made their family's home.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/obama-presidential-center-designed-hub-100756497.html