<p>Ollie Williams traveled with about 40 friends, relatives and associates to attend opening day at the Obama Presidential Center.</p><p>By bus.</p><p>All the way from Louisiana.</p><p>The group chartered the bus for the 22-hour trip to Chicago, where they joined thousands of people descending on the center's campus Friday morning.</p><p>There, they found plenty of on-site activities, including art workshops, live performances, sports clinics and more.</p><p>“I just wanted to be among the people,” said Williams, who's from Monroe, La. “With all that's going on today … we are so glad and so proud to see this, see us unite together to do something beautiful, something positive in life.”</p><p>Ethel Williams, another group member and a relative of Ollie's, said she came Friday in part because Barack Obama is more than the former president — he's her former boss. She’s an Army veteran.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center> <div class="Enhancement-item" data-crop=""> <figure class="Figure"><a class="AnchorLink" id="image-ff0000" name="image-ff0000"></a> <picture data-crop="medium"> <source type="image/webp" width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/3df88c3/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6499x3647+0+343/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F13%2Fa4%2F457f75184a97a725d7c6b0c8cf9b%2Fopcscene-260620-3.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/46f988b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6499x3647+0+343/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F13%2Fa4%2F457f75184a97a725d7c6b0c8cf9b%2Fopcscene-260620-3.jpg 2x" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <source width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b83b911/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6499x3647+0+343/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F13%2Fa4%2F457f75184a97a725d7c6b0c8cf9b%2Fopcscene-260620-3.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <img class="Image" alt="From left: Frances Wright, Linda Turner, Ollie Williams, Ethel Williams and John Dickerson, who are visiting from Louisiana, smile on Juneteenth at the Obama Presidential Center on the South Side, Friday, June 19, 2026." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b83b911/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6499x3647+0+343/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F13%2Fa4%2F457f75184a97a725d7c6b0c8cf9b%2Fopcscene-260620-3.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/8ff0e45/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6499x3647+0+343/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F13%2Fa4%2F457f75184a97a725d7c6b0c8cf9b%2Fopcscene-260620-3.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275" data-src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b83b911/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6499x3647+0+343/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F13%2Fa4%2F457f75184a97a725d7c6b0c8cf9b%2Fopcscene-260620-3.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" > </picture> <div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Frances Wright (from left), Linda Turner, Ollie Williams, Ethel Williams and John Dickerson were part of a group of 40 people who chartered a bus for the 22-hour trip from Louisiana to be at opening day of the Obama Presidential Center on Juneteenth.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Pat Nabong/Sun-Times</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><p>Although the group — sporting matching pink t-shirts — didn’t score tickets to enter the museum exhibits this weekend, they wanted to ensure they were there for the historic Juneteenth opening.</p><p>“It's just a blessing to be here on the ground,” said Ethel Williams, who's from Starlington, La.