Happy Juneteenth.

 

The Obama Presidential Center opening is a major historical event of the history of the United States of America. The Obama Presidency ended almost 10 years ago, and the legacy of Barack Obama has been very inspirational, complex, and diverse. One of the greatest gifts of former President Barack Obama was not only eloquent in his words, but he can explain the big picture of a concept and mixing that with the details of that concept at the same time. I lived through both terms of his Presidency, so people like me are perfectly qualified to analyze his 8-year Presidency. From his speech in 2004 (in the Democratic National Convention) talking about being a united country to him desiring to be President in his Springfield, Illinois 2007 speech, people from my generation (and previous generations) witnessed his political journey in amazing detail. The center is located in the South Side of the great Midwestern city of Chicago, Illinois. It is open to the general public on Juneteenth 2026. Barack Obama and Michelle Obama work as a team and as equals. There is no Presidency of Barack Obama without the intellect, strength, and insights of Michelle Obama. Michelle Obama is a legal scholar, lawyer, and activist in her own right too. Far too often, numerous people omit the contributions of the Obama Presidency like: investments to HBCUs, DACA, the Affordable Care Act, the Paris Climate Agreement, the Iranian nuclear deal, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform, Credit Card Accountability Act, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. The Obama couple (who expressed emotion about this occasion) desire the younger generation to carry the torch and express courage, leadership, and progressive insights that will improve America during the present and the future. Only God knows the whole future, and it is our responsibility to help our neighbors, defend the poor, stand for righteousness, advocate for racial justice, defend the rights of immigrants, endorse health care for all people, and fight for justice with all legitimate means possible. The Obama Presidential Center reflects his life and personality filled with a library, a basketball court, a group of letters sent to Obama, artifacts, and other places that gives an inspirational experience to people (irrespective of one's political ideology). Like always, we wish the best for the Obama family. 

The ceremony to open up the Obama Presidential Center in the South Side of Chicago that took place on June 18, 2026, was very historic. It was a time of jubilation and sense of duty to improve America. Barack Obama gave a speech filled with humbleness, disagreements with Trumpism (without saying Trump's name by calling for an independent judiciary, a robust media, and human rights protected), and a call for the younger generation to continue to improve society in general. The first African American President in the history of the United States of America wanted Americans to reject cynicism and despair to promote voting, citizenship, and activism in witnessing our democracy flourish in the Earth. The festivities were filled with the celebration of music from Chicago artists like Jennifer Hudson and Common. Also, other musicians performed at the location like Bruce Springsteen, U2, Morris Day and the Time, Young M.C., Bret Michaels, The Commodores, Martina McBride, Tems, Marc Anthony, Christina Aguleria, John Legend, the Roots, and Stevie Wonder at the end (showing songs like All I Do, Signed, Sealed and Delivered). Barack Obama wants us to embrace empathy, work for the common good, and display compassion in being part and parcel of our ethos. As Barack Obama said, we desire no kings or lords to rule over us (which was why the Revolutionary War commenced). The government ought to be controlled by the people via an elected representative government. Community and the love of his Chicago roots personified Barack Obama's (he found his identity and purpose in Chicago) and Michelle Obama's mindsets. The First Lady Michelle Obama said the words that we all thought, especially during the recent comments from MAGA bigots. 

Michelle Obama praised her roots, opposed nativism, and wanted a multicultural existence for American society. She praised immigrants and said that we have the choice to be a decent human being. She said that it is an honor to be by Barack Obama's side, and her daughters Sasha and Malia Obama were happy on the stage too. Michelle Obama praised Barack Obama's brilliance, compassion, decency, and great work ethic. Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder performed an original song of Better Believe. Jennifer Hudson sang the national anthem. Christian Aguileria sang a rendition of Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World. Valerie Jarett, CEO of the Obama administration said that the Obama Center is tribute to those who made their journey possible from campaign workers, people in American improving America, and to unsung people doing the work in creating the building. Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks, Bill Clinton, Steven Spielberg, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Jill Biden, David Letterman, George W. Bush, Laura Bush, George Lucas, and other celebrities plus political leaders attended the ceremony. The whole ceremony felt like a concert, a celebration, and an opening of a museum at the same time. The vibe felt similar to the opening ceremony of the National Museum of African American History and Culture back in 2016. The center will have a garden, artwork, a restaurant, a replica of the Oval Office, and other items of joy and inspiration for the human race.

Trump's memorandum of understanding has $300 billion sent for the reconstruction of Iran, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and negotiate a permanent peace treaty within 60 days in Switzerland in a 14-point M.O.U. Many Republicans oppose the deal, because the deal to them is not going far enough to punish Iran. Some Democrats oppose the deal too. Some have gone to say that the Trump deal is worse than Obama's Iranian deal. The difference is that Obama's Iranian deal didn't require America to fire a shot. This reality proves that strong diplomacy is superior to an unjustified military attack in Iran. Trump has talked about his deal in the G7 meeting at Evian, France. America, Japan, Germany, the UK, France, Italy, and Canada have discussed many issues at the G7 meeting. The Iranian war has been a disaster, and Iran has gained strength during this war. Trump has an aggressive foreign policy that threaten to seize Canada and Greenland, promotes large tariffs against the European Union, and promotes war internationally. The European Union wants to increase its military strength in the Middle East and in Europe. Macron also allowed the police to violently disperse the largely peaceful demonstration in Evian using tear gas and water cannons. The Evian summit represents the ruling class oligarchy planning geopolitical events, attacks on social programs, and trying to suppress growing opposition to the monopolistic power of the state. 

Some good news is that Georgia Republicans paused gerrymandering of black districts. We have seen the neo-Jim Crow tactic of some GOP members in the South who want gerrymandering tactics to eliminate fair black political representation that strife democracy. This comes after the bad Louisiana v. Callais decision that existed since late April 2026. That decision eliminated part of the Voting Rights Act. Louisiana, Alabama, and Tennessee redrew congressional maps by fiat to extinguish a preexisting majority black districts. Florida is trying to do a similar partisan gerrymander policy. We know that Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and other states of the South have a high percentage of a black population. Georgia GOP Kemp stopped his gerrymandering plan (not for moral reasons), because he knew full well that such action in Georgia would galvanize more Democratic voters to vote in the midterm elections of 2026. Georgia has general elections for Governor and U.S. Senator. Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms might win the governorship of Georgia in November. She is facing the Republican billionaire, Rick Jackson. Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff will face 2020 election denier GOP member Mike Collins. Collins is a notorious bigot and racist by wanting America to throw migrants out of helicopters into the ocean, shared a post from an anti-Semitic account attacking a Washington Post reporter for being Jewish, and shared a video of white college students mocking a black American anti-war protester with openly racist attacks. Collins (who voted for doubling health insurance premiums for more than 1 million Georgians, for the Iran War, and for the Trump tariffs) is under federal investigation for the illegal misuse of tax dollars.

By Timothy