Michelle Obama plans to dedicate an exhibit at the Obama Presidential Center Museum in Chicago to her mother, Marian Robinson. In a video statement she shared on Friday, the former first lady said the “Opening the White House” exhibit, scheduled to open in 2025, will focus on community and family while making visitors feel at home.
One of the features of the exhibit will be a scale replica of the White House’s East Room, where the Obamas once held dinners, ABC News reports. Additionally, the center will replicate the Blue Room and the South Lawn, where the family hosted garden tours and the Easter egg roll.
From an early age, my mom, Marian Robinson, taught me how to think for myself, use my own voice, and understand my own worth.
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) May 6, 2022
Ahead of #MothersDay, I’m proud to announce that the “Opening the White House” exhibit at the Obama Presidential Center will be named after her. 💕 pic.twitter.com/QDhSSRRet0
Obama raved about the special woman in her life as she announced the plans for the exhibit ahead of Mother’s Day.
“Growing up with my mom was always an adventure,” she said. “It was trips to the library as a toddler to learn about ABCs; it was the entire family piling into our car to go to the local drive-in; and my mom inviting family over for New Year’s Eve, passing around her special hors d’oeuvres and toasting in the new year.”
Above all else, Obama said her mother gave her “that nonstop, unconditional love” that was so important for her as she grew up.
“In so many ways, she fostered in me a deep sense of confidence in who I was and who I could be by teaching me how to think for myself, how to use my own voice and how to understand my own worth,” the 58-year-old said. “I simply wouldn’t be who I am today without my mom.”
The Chicago native shared similar sentiments about her mother in her memoir, Becoming. Obama described her mother as the “first grandmother” because she lived with the family in the White House, helping them take care of the house and the children.
The Obama Presidential Center, which broke ground in September, is designed by architects Todd Williams and Billie Tsien, according to the foundation’s website. The center will include The Winter Garden to honor Hadiya Pendleton, a Chicago teen who was shot and killed a few days after performing with her majorette squad during President Barack Obama’s second presidential inauguration.
Other features will include a a children’s play area and a library with interactive digital media spaces.
“We’ve been really mindful about building a collection that speaks to the idea of American history and the connection to the president’s story — thinking about the formative years of the president and Mrs. Obama, thinking about the post-White House legacy and the connection to the ongoing work of the foundation,” Dr. Louise Bernard, the director of the Obama Presidential Center Museum, told People.
The center’s collection also includes a certificate of merit plaque awarded to Obama in 1979, when she was known as Michelle Robinson. The certificate was featured in that year’s edition of Who’s Who of America.
Bernard said the plaque was “honoring tomorrow’s leaders today.”
