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That means even custodial workers are required to sign off on political beliefs entirely unrelated to their job performance.
“When people come here, we want them to feel what makes the South Side so special,” Obama said in a video message Tuesday.
The Obama Foundation makes its expectations unmistakably clear. Each job description includes identical language emphasizing that applicants must be “deeply committed to creating an actively anti-racist organization.”
In plain English, loyalty to ideology matters more than qualifications.
The foundation openly states that it values how goals are achieved just as much—if not more—than the goals themselves. Conservatives see this as code for prioritizing political alignment over competence, experience, or merit.
According to the foundation, the entire staff must be unified in combating what Obama routinely describes as systemic racism and gender discrimination—concepts many Americans believe are used to divide rather than unite.
“That’s why our goal is to make sure every member of the Foundation team is committed to anti-racism, sets expectations for how we will engage, and makes space for the work,” the Foundation’s lengthy statement reads.
This aggressive push comes at a time when the country is moving in the opposite direction.
President Donald Trump wasted no time dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives during his second term. On January 20, Trump signed Executive Order 14151, titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing.”
The order eliminated DEI offices and programs across federal agencies.
“The Biden Administration forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs, going by the name ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI), into virtually all aspects of the Federal Government,” the executive order states.
A day later, Trump followed up with another sweeping order restoring merit-based opportunity by revoking Executive Order 11246, a decades-old mandate requiring affirmative action by federal contractors.
“We’ve ended the tyranny of so-called Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies all across the entire federal government and indeed the private sector and our military,” Trump told Congress in March.
“And our country will be woke no longer.”
Corporate America quickly took notice. Hundreds of major companies quietly scaled back or eliminated DEI initiatives, and more than 1,000 nonprofit organizations rewrote mission statements to remove ideological language. Attorney General Pam Bondi has since directed the Department of Justice to investigate corporations still enforcing discriminatory DEI policies.
Yet Obama appears determined to swim against the tide.
The Jackson Park Presidential Center has already been plagued by delays, lawsuits, and ballooning costs. Originally slated to open in 2021, the project is now five years behind schedule.
Costs have skyrocketed from an initial estimate of $300 million to at least $850 million, making it the most expensive presidential center in American history.
President Trump criticized the project last year, calling attention to its spiraling price tag.
“Some cost overruns are normal, but not when it winds up being three times what it was supposed to cost,” Trump said.
The building’s appearance has drawn mockery from locals, earning the nickname “Obamalisk.” Many residents say it resembles a prison or a Soviet-style concrete monument.
A construction foreman who spoke anonymously said, “The place is built like a bomb shelter. The walls are a foot and a half thick.”
Local attorney Ken Woodard didn’t hold back.
“It’s over budget, it’s taking way too long to finish and it’s going to drive up prices and bring headaches and problems for everyone who lives here,” Woodard told reporters.
Obama Foundation Deputy Director Kim Patterson attempted to justify the design last December.
“The shape of the building was actually meant to mimic four hands coming together to show the importance of our collective action,” Patterson told CBS News.
She also addressed the lack of windows.
“There are not a lot of windows on the building, but that’s intentional, because sunlight is just not a friend to the artwork and the artifacts that are going inside of the building,” she said.
The 19-acre campus includes a library, museum, auditorium, garden, athletic facility, and a Chicago Public Library branch. Construction required the removal of hundreds of trees and dismantled parts of Jackson Park’s historic Women’s Garden.
The land itself was secured for just $10 under a 99-year lease.
Despite promises of fiscal responsibility, the foundation pledged to create a $470 million endowment to shield taxpayers from future costs. As of September 2025, only $1 million had been deposited—just 0.21% of the promised amount.
Without that endowment, annual operating costs of $30 million could ultimately fall on Chicago taxpayers.
At its core, the controversy isn’t just about architecture or budgets. It’s about Obama using taxpayer-backed prestige to advance the same divisive ideology Americans overwhelmingly rejected at the ballot box.
After eight years of race-based politics, Obama is now demanding ideological compliance from anyone who wants a paycheck at his presidential center.
Voters sent a clear message in November.
Barack Obama clearly wasn’t listening.
