Barack Obama Presidential Center Opens to Public on Juneteenth Amid Scrutiny of His Record

The Barack Obama Presidential Center opened to the public on Friday during the Juneteenth holiday. 3-acre campus in Chicago hosted its first public visitors after a star-studded private ceremony and concert the previous night. Juneteenth marks the day Black slaves were declared free in 1865.

The opening drew attendees from Chicago and other cities who spoke with Fox News Digital about the former president's record. Lauren Tillman, who lives about 40 minutes outside Chicago, said the center brought people together. "The community is great, we're just kind of glad it's here," she told Fox News Digital.

Ashley Woods attended with Tillman. "To know that [Obama] was going to try to do at least something for his people, that meant a lot to me," Woods said. She added that the legacy represented "Black excellence" and showed that people from Chicago could reach the highest levels of government with little scandal.

Sheryl Rogers and Peggy Neely-Harris traveled from St. Louis for the weekend. " Valerie Reynolds, a 26-year-old Chicago resident, said the center would improve the image of the city's South Side. "I think Barack Obama's legacy is and will continue to be the inspiration of togetherness," she told Fox News Digital.

Kia Ware came from Virginia. "It makes me sad because I was so proud of everything that was accomplished during that legacy in terms of, you know, fighting for vulnerable people and vulnerable lands and protection of so many things that are now being erased forever," she said. Barack Obama spoke at the dedication ceremony on Thursday.

Fox News reported that during his presidency his administration seized records of Fox News phone lines, including a number belonging to the parents of a reporter, after an FBI agent described reporter James Rosen as a likely criminal co-conspirator in an Espionage Act affidavit.