Military Veteran Gets ‘Surprise’ at Obama Presidential Center’s Opening Day

When 70-year-old Zenotis Boyd Jr., a one-time cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, heard about the grand opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center and Library in Chicago, he felt like he had to be there to celebrate the nation’s first African-American president.

“It’s like my life story,” the Army veteran, who left West Point before graduation to start a career in information technology, told Military.com from the South side of Chicago. “When they say that we all contributed to this, I can see it.”

The sprawling 19-acre, $850 million presidential center was designed to welcome community partners, including members of the military. Boyd traveled from his home in Bloomington, Ill., fully prepared to pay the $30 adult admission fee for a ticket to the presidential museum, but received a surprising gift.

The presidential center is extending complimentary admission to veterans and those on active duty, allowing Boyd and other service members to get inside for the coveted Juneteenth opening day.

“I had no idea it was free. I was planning to come anyway,” he said. “When I initially saw it was going to be a charge of $30, I didn’t order a ticket then. But I had my mind made up I was gonna come. And then when I went to purchase a ticket in person, they said, ‘No worries, it’s free.'”

It turns out the tickets were sold out well into last November, which was another surprise for Boyd who considers himself lucky. He spent three days in Chicago for the festivities, standing outside at a watch party during the center’s official dedication ceremony on June 18.

He stood still watching and listening intently to the speeches of former First Lady Michelle Obama and former President Barack Obama, the latter recalling his early days as a community organizer in the same Jackson Park area on the city’s south side where his presidential library stands.

“It was here in this city, a city of broad shoulders, that I found what I was looking for,” Barack Obama said in his speech. “Day by day, block by block, I got to know the people who lived here, their hopes, their dreams, their tragedies, and their triumphs.”

The former president went on to tell the crowd of thousands how the people of Chicago shaped his political focus.

“I witnessed their resilience in the face of hardship and the quiet heroism of a single mom raising her kids and sending them to college on a secretary’s salary, or the priest electing to stay in the city and open his doors to at-risk youths, even as most of his flock had fled to the suburbs,” the former president said.

“I learned that leadership has less to do with titles or rank or chasing attention than with helping others find their voice, reaching their potential,” he added.

Those words resonated with Boyd, who sees himself as a lifelong community organizer, just like Obama.

“I’m interested in community participation and engagement, I’m interested in community development, I’m interested in community activism,” Boyd said. “I’d like to see Jackson Park renamed. Instead of after Andrew Jackson, it should be named after Jesse Jackson.”

How the Museum Looks Inside and Out

While touring the inside of the presidential museum, Boyd was struck by the detailed exhibits chronicling Obama’s early life, his campaign for president, and Obama’s eight years in the White House. He said every display brought back a fond memory.

“I had two favorite parts. One was the wall where it had all the old Obama campaign posters and pictures and buttons,” Boyd said. “My second favorite was the replica of the Oval Office. It was amazing to see what it was like to be inside the Oval Office.”

For Boyd, touring the presidential museum was his way of thanking Obama for showing that an African-American man like him could be president in his lifetime.

“This is our ‘thank you,'” he said. “Anybody who had anything to do with getting Barack Obama elected can see themselves, can see their contribution,” Boyd said. “That’s the only way it could have happened. This represents us. It is us. We are written on the walls.”

A sentiment was shared by former First Lady Michelle Obama, who used her speech to remind the crowd of her husband’s campaign mantra, “Yes we can.”

“The Obama Presidential Center is a living testament to the power of choice, y’all. The historic example that millions of you gave the world about what this imperfect democracy has strived for and achieved. And an urgent call to go out there and do it again,” she said.

“So I hope that when you walk through this campus and bring your children here, you are reminded of the power of choice and the steady work of change. The arduous, unglamorous march up that mountain one foot after another, day after day, generation after generation, but I also hope you fully absorb the elation of achieving something together.”