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CNN Live Event/Special

The Obama Presidential Center Opening Ceremony. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired June 18, 2026 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:30:00]

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... eradicating disease and feeding the hungry and educating children. When we encourage cooperation between nations, instead of trying to dominate and bully and squeeze every advantage just because we can. And most of all, when we show through our example here at home, that even a country as big and diverse as ours can make democracy work, it turns out all nations, including ours, become more prosperous and secure.

And the world gets a little bit brighter. I recognize it's been almost a decade since I left office. In that time, we have lived through more war than a terrible pandemic.

Economic disruptions, mass protests, backlash against mass protests, political conflicts that have shaken the very foundation of our democracy. We've witnessed a technological revolution that promises remarkable discoveries, could revolutionize medicine, but is also accelerating inequality, that puts all the world's information in the palm of our hands, but somehow makes it harder for us to tell a truth from a lie. That connects us instantly like never before. Even as it makes us more distrustful and more withdrawn and more fearful and more isolated from each other.

It's a lot for millions of people in this country and around the world. The future feels uncertain, the ground unstable beneath our feet. And as algorithms keep feeding us a steady stream of distraction and outrage, as only the loudest, most extreme voices get attention, fanning our prejudices, appealing to our basest, most tribal instincts.

It's tempting to give in to cynicism and even despair, to stop trying. We start thinking that appeals to democracy and civic participation are corny and old-fashioned and boring and naive. But the very idea of working on behalf of the common good is a sucker's bet.

And that in order for us to win, somebody else got to lose. I get it. I am not immune to anger or doubt, but I do know this.

When we lose faith in each other, when we stop believing that voting matters, that citizenship matters, that our collective voices matter, that how we treat each other no longer matters, and we give away our power to decide our own futures. We open the door to the most ruthless or the most careless or the most fearful among us, who see some groups and some people as more equal than others, and see government as nothing more than a way to divvy up the spoils and punish enemies and keep those who are different in their place. I do not believe that is the story of America that prevails in the end.

I don't believe it because for us to give up, for us to give in now, after all this country's been through, to cynicism and division would be a betrayal of our founding ideas, a betrayal of our faith.

[14:35:00]

And I remain convinced that the overwhelming majority of Americans feel the same way, that as unsettled as we are, people aren't looking for perpetual anger and division. They are looking for fairness and common sense and mutual respect, that deep in our gut, we want to find a way to turn towards each other again, not further away.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: I believe this because I've seen it all across our country, in cities that have worked together to reclaim their streets from crime, in rural communities that have rebuilt their economy, in businesses that are finding new ways to make housing affordable, in those ordinary people in the twin cities who brave frigid temperatures, risk their own safety, standing shoulder to shoulder to look out for their neighbors and sometimes look out for strangers because they knew that was the right thing to do.

I've seen it.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: And I've seen it in a new generation of leaders here and around the world. In Puniha and Addison, leaders who are determined to make our governments and our economies and our societies work for everyone. Obama Foundation leaders like Hannah, a Food Corps member from rural Ohio who's helping ensure every child has access to at least one nourishing meal.

Or George, an entrepreneur whose non-profit helps get unused, unexpired medicine, often at no cost, to people who need it. Or Zuzanna, a human rights lawyer in Poland who's won more than 30 landmark cases. There are thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of these young people out there making a difference right now.

And this center is devoted to lifting up their stories, giving them the tools and support they need to expand their impact. For while our work is non-partisan, we are not values neutral. We have a point of view.

The exhibits in the center are not meant to evoke nostalgia for some gauzy bygone era, some unattainable past that we can dream about and say, oh, we miss you, Barack. They're meant to remind us of who we can be, to remind us of what's possible, so we can forge ahead, clear-eyed and confident, and do the work that still needs to be done. We can learn from the past. But America's story isn't frozen in the past. It has chapters yet to be written, not by one person or a few people, not by Barack and Michelle or anybody with a fancy title or a high office, but by all of us. You know, one of the things a lot of presidential libraries now have in common is a replica of the Oval Office.

And if you take a peek at the one inside this building, you will see some objects that carried some special meaning for me during the time that I was in office. There's a program that a friend from the South Side gave me that he had retrieved from the 1963 March on Washington. He was there.

There's a Norman Rockwell painting of the Statue of Liberty with workers hanging on ropes, burnishing the torch that she holds aloft. And on the rug, you'll read words from some of America's greatest leaders, including a quote that inspired that arch that you see right there at the south end of the plaza by Martin Perry. The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.

[14:40:00]

As a quote that was often invoked by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but it originally comes from a Boston minister's sermon more than 170 years ago. And at the time, the abolitionist cause seemed lost.

The Compromise of 1850 had made harboring fugitive slaves a crime under federal law, even in those states that had abolished slavery. And in a case that garnered national attention, a young fugitive in Boston had been seized and tried and marched to the wharf by hundreds of armed officers, where he was summarily put on a ship bound for the south, where he would remain in shackles and chains. And it was a moment of profound uncertainty and despair.

A moment the minister called darker than any New England had witnessed. We do not see, Reverend Theodore Parker observed, that justice is always done on earth. Many a knave is rich, sleek, and honored, while the just man is poor, hated, and in torment.

I do not pretend, the preacher said, to understand the moral universe. The arc is a long one. My eye reaches but little ways.

I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight. I can divine it by conscience. But from what I see, I am sure it bends towards justice.

The good reverend was under no illusions about the perils and obstacles facing the abolitionist cause. His words offered no easy answers, no comforting assurances that he or his congregation would live to see the progress they so desperately sought. Rather, his was a declaration of faith, a defiant call not to abandon hope or give way to fear, but to stay true to our better selves and true to one another, and to keep fighting to fulfill the promise of this nation, even in the face of cruelty and bitter disappointment, even in the face of impossible odds.

It is that spirit that we open this center today, the same spirit that so many of you showed all those years ago, the same spirit that inspired generations of Americans to meet the challenges of their time, the same spirit that is alive and well here on the south side of Chicago, the same spirit that will see America and the world through its present trials. There is a new generation out there, ready to write the next chapter of our story. We intend to help them do it, and we ask that you join us.

Thank you. God bless you. God bless the United States of America.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Heads up. Heads up. Yes, he's not done.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Hi, I'm Bruce, and I'm so glad to be here this afternoon for President Obama and Michelle, and Malia and Sasha. You know how I love you all. Oh, what a glorious task we are given to continually strive to improve this great nation of ours.

[14:45:00]

That was from President Obama's speech at Selma. President Obama and Michelle, you have exemplified that ideal with lives that have served us all with heart and commitment, love, and compassion. This is land of hope and dreams. This is for you.

Grab your ticket and your suitcase Thunder's rolling down the tracks You don't know where you're goin' now But you know you won't be back Oh darlin' if you're weary Lay your head upon my chest We'll take what we can carry Yeah, and we'll leave the rest Well big wheels rolling through fields Where sunlight streams Oh meet me in a land of hope and dreams. I will provide for you And I'll stand by your side You'll need a good companion now All for this part of the ride Yeah, leave behind your sorrows Let this day be the last Because tomorrow there'll be sunshine And all this darkness past Big wheels roll through fields Where sunlight streams Oh meet me in a land of hope and dreams Well, this train Carries saints and sinners This train Carries losers and winners This Train Carries whores and gamblers Oh this Train Carries lost souls I said this Train Dreams will not be thwarted On this Train Faith will be rewarded On this Train Hear the steel wheels singin' On this Train Bells of freedom ringin'

Big Wheels rolling through fields Where sunlight streams Oh meet me in a land of hope and dreams Oh meet me in a land of hope and dreams Oh meet me in a land of hope and dreams

Thanks. Love you. Thanks, brother.

(APPLAUSE)

SPRINGSTEEN: Thank you, thank you.

I am honored to bring out one of my great heroes, the great, great Stevie Wonder.

STEVIE WONDER: It is truly that I gave all praise to God for this moment. For me, it's the perfect circle. And I will, before I leave the stage, explain to you why I say that.

But right now, we're going to do some music. Are you ready? Let's get it.

Burning fine. You're getting to be my one design. You're getting to be all that matters to me.

Let me tell you, girl, I hope and pray each day I live.

A little more love I'll have to give. A little more love that's deeper than it's true.

All I do is think about you. Hey, baby.

Yes, think about you.

Think about you, baby. Maybe just a thought that should happen to cross your mind.

First of all, I need a friend even trying to find. And let me tell you, girl, think of how exciting it would be

If you would discover you feel like me. If you would discover this dream is for two.

Well, I'm gonna tell you, girl I'm glad I can't do every day. And pray that you'll always feel this way.

And pray that our love will forever be new.

All I do is think about you. Hey, baby.

I think about you, baby. Hey, baby.

If you fail, if you fail at my advice, If you fail at what you promised

Your still thinking.

All I do is think about you. All I do is think about you. All I do is think about you.

That's our song. I got full on, man, stay too long.

I wonder if your love's still strong.

Oh, baby. Here I am signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours

In that time I went and said goodbye I'm not going to see me cry Here I am signed, sealed, delivered I'm yours Here I am baby. It's just you I've seen a lot of things in this old world

Here I am signed, sealed, delivered Oh, I'm yours Ooh, and baby, it's been so long,

I know you're mine All I need is that

I'm yours forever, Michelle and Barack, forever Here I am, baby, yeah Here I am, baby,

I'm yours, baby, I'm yours Here I am, baby Here I am, baby, I'm yours, baby, I'm yours

I've done a lot of those things That I really didn't mean

I could be a broken man But here I am What you do, you got to do it, baby

Here I am, baby, I'm yours, baby, I'm yours

Here I am, baby Here I am, baby,

Here I am signed, sealed, delivered Oh, I'm yours

Yes!

I want to share with you all something that you need to know. In 2004, I had the pleasure of having my friend Steve McKeever come to Wonderland Studios. He said to me, there's someone named Barack Obama who wants to ask you to run, no, I'm sorry, he asked me to have you possibly come and do a performance as he's running for senator.

So I said, so bring him down. Let's do it. So I came down, it was him and Barack.

I remember we sat in front of the studio at Wonderland. I was talking, and we had some words to say. I said, let me try to get Michelle on the phone. It never happened, I don't know. We were talking, and we kept talking, and he said, yeah, I would love for you to come. I said, it would be my joy to come to support you.

I said, but you know what? I'm talking to you in my spirit, because here I'm telling you something that's not political, but it's spiritual. I said, in my spirit, I know that you're running to be a senator, but I'm seeing you as being a president.

I said, let's pray on it. And so we prayed on it. And now we see with fear, faith without fear, and faith living in truth, and understanding that the spirit is that we have to follow, that spirit of positivity, because I believed it, I knew it, I imagined it then.

Now we are celebrating it. President Barack Obama.

(APPLAUSE)

WONDER: So I want you to remember, all of you, never let fear put your dreams to sleep. Never.

I have Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera, John Legend, Eddie Vedder, Bruce Springsteen in common. You're coming out with me?

We're going to do this thing. Are y'all ready? I don't care where you are in the world.

Roots is going to be a part of this too. I don't care where you are. Let's celebrate.

Because I knew, and we knew in the spirit, that positivity was going to win. Are y'all ready?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

WONDER: Are y'all ready?

One, two ...

END