Former President Barack Obama is donating a pair of red Everlast boxing gloves autographed by Muhammad Ali to the Obama Presidential Center, currently under construction in Chicago’s Jackson Park.
The Obama Foundation announced the donation in a Feb. 25 statement.
“Ali’s story has been an inspiration for President Obama,” the organization said.
The gloves, which Ali gave to Obama will be on display at the Obama Presidential Center Museum in June.“They were a reminder of a quality the President admired most in Ali: ‘his unique ability to summon extraordinary strength and courage in the face of adversity, to navigate the storm and never lose his way.’ These gloves remind us all to have the courage of our convictions. They will be on display in an exhibit highlighting sociopolitical movements from the 1960s to the early 1990s that helped shape.
@BarackObama and @MichelleObama when they were young.”The presidential center has been hit with lawsuits as well as community concerns about gentrification and displacement on Chicago’s South Side since its construction was announced in 2015.
Additionally, the grandiose nature of the building has incited criticism, specifically objections related to text on a 225-foot museum tower. Detractors say the lettering is unintelligible and an eyesore, Fast Company reported. While the lettering serves a practical purpose as a load-bearing structure, the words have meaning. The lettering spells out a quote from Obama’s “You Are America” speech delivered in Selma, Alabama, in 2015. Though the message may be poignant, many observers claim it is unintelligible.
Complaints over the extended timeline of the structure have been abundant. The building’s presence on the South Side of Chicago is meant to drive investment and expand economic opportunity after decades of underinvestment. It’s set to open this spring.
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