Overview
- The former president visited the Bessie Coleman branch in Woodlawn while touring the nearly finished Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park.
- Wearing a red Santa hat, he read “Flying Free: How Bessie Coleman’s Dreams Took Flight” to Burke Elementary students and discussed vocabulary and themes from the book.
- Media access was restricted to a pool reporter from Politico, a Chicago Tribune photographer and a CBS camera person at the Obama Foundation’s direction.
- Students received winter hats, gloves and a book to take home, and Obama greeted library staff and community members.
- The foundation says the center opens in June and will feature a public library branch, auditorium, NBA‑regulation court, gardens, parkland and a 225‑foot museum tower, with the Home Court athletic facility already complete.