The Chicago City Council's Black Caucus this week was drowned out by black residents of the city's South Side neighborhood who protested an aspect to the Obama Presidential Center's construction plans during a press conference this week.

Just as a group of Chicago alderman started to praise the Obama Foundation for hiring five minority-owned construction companies to oversee 51 percent of the 20-acre project, a group of people started chanting "shame on you" and "CBA," which stands for Community Benefits Agreement.

The Obama Foundation has said the Center will have a $3.1 billion economic impact on the neighborhood and city in the first decade.



However, residents fear the Center will prompt gentrification and push out them out of their homes. Other environmental and historical groups are also concerned about building a private facility and taking over historic federal land.

"We cannot take the president’s word on the fact that they’re not gonna push African-Americans out with the Obama Presidential Center. There is no history that says their word is worth anything," Jitu Brown, an activist who led the Wednesday protest, told the Chicago Sun-Times.

"The situation will not be different because our African-American president endorsed school privatization — the closing of schools all across the United States. Our African-American aldermen have sat by while 50 schools closed in the city of Chicago. And it had a harmful effect on Chicago’s children," he added. "Just because you are African-American does not mean that you walk with the values of people that live in those communities. We’re tired of people saying ‘I’m from the neighborhood.’ Who is your allegiance to?"

Advocates say a written agreement like the one used in the case of the Staples Center in Los Angeles would guarantee locals they will be able to stay in and afford their communities.

Former President Barack Obama has said he would not sign a community benefits contract.

The Center is currently being considered by city's planning department.