Obama Presidential Center will be an inspiration for South Side youth
For too long, the South Side has allowed outsiders to define it.
We’ve listened to people lump our community together, often calling it dangerous and failing to recognize its different neighborhoods and the unique aspects each one offers.
Recently, we have witnessed Chicagoans, many of whom are not from the South Side, oppose the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park.
As members of the South Side community, we must demand better for our community and its young people.
As the director of inspired engagement at the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago, I see the promise of our youth and witness the struggles their parents face every day. I have seen that creating opportunities for parents uplifts the family and provides stability for their children.
Providing thoughtful programs and resources for our youth allows them to dream bigger, to think creatively and to work collaboratively. The South Side is rich with talent waiting to be discovered.
To date, the Obama Foundation has launched numerous programs to bring opportunities to the community.
The foundation has partnered with Lakeside Alliance to train and provide opportunities in construction trades that pay a living wage. The My Brother’s Keeper Alliance works to close the gap between young men of color and their peers.
The Community Leadership Corps equips young people with tools to be effective leaders and impact their communities. These programs are only a glimpse of what the Obama Center will offer once opened.
South Side youth deserve a place where they can go to feel inspired, empowered and connected. And that place should be close to their own homes, not downtown or on the North Side.
They deserve to be inspired by the generations of civil rights leaders whose efforts made the Obama administration possible. They deserve safe places to play and quiet places to relax.
The OPC will be a source of inspiration for youth to dream bigger and fight harder. We should all celebrate its arrival.