Obama Center opening stirs pride and unease for Chicago’s South Side amid displacement fears
Jun 19, 2026
South Siders voice concerns about gentrification, housing and affordability as they celebrate opening of the Obama Presidential Center Pastor Jeffery Campbell has deep ties to Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood. He was raised in the South Side neighborhood, and has served as pastor at Woodlawn Baptis
t Church for 22 years.And for the past decade, he’s attempted to protect its residents from displacement and gentrification. He’s seen rising rents, residents squeezed by university development and life becoming more unaffordable. Now, there’s a new challenge: the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center – part of a 19-acre, $850m campus – that has transformed life in the neighborhood, as well as the adjacent South Shore and Hyde Park, long before this Friday’s opening to the public. Continue reading...
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