Chicago's Bronzeville Hopes to Land Obama Library
By: Lynette Holloway
Source: theroot.com
Bronzeville, the historic African-American community on Chicago's South Side,
is where the stories of writers and musicians through the ages -- including
Richard Wright, Louis Armstrong, Lorraine Hansberry, Buddy Guy and Willie Dixon
-- have been told. Now residents hope it will be home to a Barack Obama
presidential library, the Chicago Tribune reports.
"This area tells the story of Chess Records, gospel music, blues and jazz, electrified
by Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters," said Harold Lucas, president of the
Black Metropolis Convention & Tourism Council in Bronzeville. "When people come
to Chicago, that's what they want to see. They want to see the birthplace of
Mr. Obama's political career."
Though Obama has not commented publicly about his plans for a library, every
president since Herbert Hoover has established an archive in his home state to
house papers from his White House tenure. That means the race could come down
to Chicago -- the city Obama most recently called home -- and Honolulu -- the city
where he was born.
If Chicago is selected, the next hurdle would be to determine where the facility would
be built. An Obama library likely would not open before the end of the decade, but
already it is a hot commodity because of the prestige and economic vitality it would
bring to the community.
