Help preserve history and share the Obamas' legacy with current and future generations!
The Obama Foundation is actively seeking materials for acquisition consideration and potential display at the Obama Presidential Center Museum on Chicago’s South Side. Our goal for the Museum collection is to preserve and activate a rich and multifaceted record of President and Mrs. Obama’s lives and legacy in order to share the lessons of history and to help inspire, connect, and empower people to change their world.
We need your help to ensure a diverse range of stories and perspectives are represented through the artifacts we collect.
Your material does not need to be one-of-a-kind or of high monetary value for it to have historical significance. We are i nterested in materials that tell the stories of the communities and individuals that helped to shape or were impacted by the Obamas’ unique journey and time in the White House.
If you have materials you would like to share with us, you can tell us more about them here . (https://obamacenter.typeform.com/to/eEtS3z), or contact us at [email protected] We are actively seeking materials related to the categories described below -- but please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have materials you feel might be of interest that are not included on this list.
Call for artifacts — Our Chicago wishlist:
Formative Years in Chicago
● Materials related to the history of community and labor organizing in Chicago that helped inspire a young Barack Obama and that laid the groundwork for his work as a community organizer ● Objects and images related to Michelle Obama’s Chicago roots, including the changing demographics of the South Shore neighborhood where the First Lady grew up and her attendance at Whitney Young High School ● Materials related to the President’s career as a community organizer, e.g. his time with the Developing Communities Project, working to improve housing conditions at Altgeld Gardens, and at Project VOTE ● Artifacts and documents related to the President and First Lady’s early legal careers, including their time together at the Sidley Austin law firm and the President’s work in civil rights litigation at Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland ● Materials related to the President’s time as a professor at the University of Chicago, including syllabi, assignments, graded papers, etc.
● Materials related to Michelle Obama’s work in Mayor Daley’s administration, at Public Allies, and at the University of Chicago (including her work with the Community Service Center, Summer Links internship program, and the University of Chicago Medical Center) ● Campaign memorabilia and other material related to Barack Obama’s career as a state and U.S. Senator
2008 and 2012 Presidential Campaigns
● Campaign, election, and inauguration memorabilia of all kinds, including materials related to specific organizing groups and/or communities ● Objects, documents, or photos from campaign volunteers that show a unique, unexpected, or personally meaningful aspect of the campaign experience ● Mementos from notable, emotional, exciting, or challenging moments during the primaries and national campaign ● Materials related to election night 2008 and the 2009 inauguration, including expressions of hometown/South Side pride and the historic nature of President Obama’s status as the first African American President of the United States ● Anti-Obama materials that speak to the complex narrative of our democratic process ● Other fun, inspirational, surprising, representative, and/or unique objects that speak to the historical nature and exuberance of the presidential campaigns (2008 and 2012)
The Obama Presidency and Administration
● Objects, documents, and images that connect to the challenges, critiques, achievements, and significant events of President Obama’s eight years in office and that helped shape and define his presidency ● Objects, documents, or photos that show a unique, unexpected, or personally meaningful aspect of the administration’s work or its impact on individuals and/or communities, including military service members and their families ● Personal mementos of interactions with the President, First Lady, or other members of the White House from either presidential term