CHICAGO — Just ahead of the Juneteenth public opening of the Obama Presidential Center, former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama gathered nearly 500 supporters and contributors to the campus for a thank you celebration on Tuesday.

“For us to be able to give back to this community is really important to us, and that couldn’t have happened without the dedication and professionalism and effort and headaches and problem-solving and talent and artistry and skill of the people here today,” the former president said.

The same day, the foundation announced the lineup for Thursday’s dedication ceremony, which will be livestreamed beginning at 11 a.m. Thursday at obama.org and on the foundation’s social media pages. Among the planned performances: Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, Tems, John Legend, The Roots, Marc Anthony, as well as U2’s Bono and The Edge. Chicagoans Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Vedder and Common are also on the roster, as is actress Marsai Martin.

Friday was the first time Michelle Obama toured the completed museum. “To walk into that space and to see the amount of professionalism and artistry and love and care that has gone into creating what I hope will be a center that really changes the trajectory of the people — especially the young people — who grew up in this community that I call home,” she said at the reception.

“To be able to look out across and see the South Side of Chicago, to see the beauty of our parks, to finally be able to see that there’s a lagoon over there that is safe to walk in, where children are playing and couples are holding hands, that Chicago wasn’t available to me my entire life. It was not available,” she said.

“It was closed down, it was boarded off, it was uncared for, it wasn’t invested in. And the message to me and to kids like me is that we weren’t worth investing in,” Michelle Obama said, adding that beautiful parks, art and museums required a trip downtown “to go into spaces that sometimes treated us like we didn’t belong. And now we have this.”

She thanked her husband “for doing this for the South Side of Chicago.”

Scattered throughout the crowd were landscapers, philanthropic leaders, artists and current and former city officials. Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett said it was a “way for us to show our appreciation to the many people who helped make this day possible, to help create the center, design it, build it, give feedback to us from people from the surrounding community.”

“There’s a lot of different components to this very complex campus, and we went out and found the best people we could to help create it, and so now that it’s finished, what better thing to do than say thank you?” Jarrett said.

One attendee, Monica Haslip, knew the Obamas before their political ascension. The founder of the nonprofit Little Black Pearl hosted lunches for foundation events at her restaurant, is providing cold-pressed juices for the cafe, and fostered artists whose work is featured in and around the campus early in their careers.

“When I look around here, just as an artist, as a community organizer, as a mother, I get to see what was put into it, you know, just the love and the thoughtfulness. Everybody can see a little bit of themselves, you know?” Haslip said. “I’m over the moon. I’m very proud.”

Standing onstage at Home Court, the campus’ athletic center, Obama pointed west and said “I actually came to Chicago right there.”

“I’d been hired to organize on the South Side by some churches,” he said, recounting a trip in his “janky” car to Stony Island Avenue, which borders the campus. “I was 25 years old. And I knew I wanted to do something meaningful with my life, I wanted to be involved with community, and I wanted to help uplift folks who had been forgotten and I didn’t quite know how I was going to do that, but this community embraced me and gave me a chance.”

“Most of what has been important in my life is because of this place and the people here, because the people here taught me resilience and courage and hope,” he continued. “When I went to Washington and when we started campaigning around the country, I was carrying a piece of this community with me the entire time.”

Sam Kirk, who created the Home Court mural “Pass It Forward” with fellow South Side public artist Dorian Sylvain, said she felt overwhelmed and “complete joy. ... I’m also excited to see kids in the space playing ball.”

Part of the talent team that provided American Sign Language translation on video displays throughout the museum were also on hand. That included Jeremy Lee Stone, an ASL educator who interpreted Obama’s voice-overs in the videos. “Translating into ASL is tough to deliver that same experience and the same feeling and the spirit and the vision,” he told the Chicago Tribune through an interpreter. He and others worked with a team of consultants to make sure the right message came across in his gestures. Andrea Sonnier, who translated the museum’s music into ASL, said it was “the honor of a lifetime” as a Black deaf interpreter to be part of the project.

“Growing up on the South Side, what else could you ask for?” Kirk asked. “Access to really good art, access to art by artists that are here, living, which I think is really important for our youth to see, but also just the space, like the green space is beautiful.”

The former first lady wore a skirt to Tuesday’s event emblazoned with a photo of her late mother, Marian Robinson. And the former president told attendees he was reminded of her and her late husband, Fraser Robinson.

“They represent to me what’s best about this country and what’s best about our values. And people who aren’t trying to get every last nickel, and aren’t cutting corners when it comes to values, and treat people high and low with respect and kindness and handle their business. Just salt of the earth, bedrock people,” he said.

“There are people like that all across this great country of ours. And their voices are not heard because we’ve got a set of institutions that have fallen victim to the siren song of, ‘Everything’s about money, and everything’s about attention, and everything’s about fame. Everything’s about getting over.’”

“So it’s fitting that she’s with us here today, because part of what we want this center to be is a reminder of those people, and to make sure this country is true to their spirit,” Obama said.

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