Crowd Gathers At Ala. Capitol For King Day Rally

More than 500 people attended a rally on the steps of the Alabama Capitol to celebrate civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.

King Day fell on the same day that President Barack Obama was sworn in for a second term as the nation's first black president.

Speakers Monday included Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, who called the King Day celebration "a great day for America."

Earlier Monday, Southern Christian Leadership Conference President Charles Steele told a Unity Breakfast in Birmingham that there was still much work to be done to fulfill King's dream.

Steele is a former Alabama state senator from Tuscaloosa, who now lives in Atlanta.

Before the rally Monday, hundreds marched to the Capitol, passing the church where King as pastor helped lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.