Ali Center crowd applauds Obama

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A crowd at the Muhammad Ali Center rose as President Barack Obama took the oath of office for a second term, then erupted in applause while watching on a giant TV screen in an auditorium at the downtown Louisville attraction.

Keith Buckner of Louisville said Monday's ceremony holds extra significance by coming on the same day the country honors civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Buckner says Obama's presidency shows the strides made in fulfilling King's dream of racial equality.

Buckner calls it "a wonderful time in the history of the United States."

Paula Brooks of Louisville brought her son and grandchildren to the Ali Center. She said she never thought she would ever see a black president in her lifetime.

Obama won the presidency twice without carrying Kentucky.

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