The city of Birmingham is planning a $50,000 party to celebrate the inauguration of Obama.

City Council members agreed Monday with Mayor Larry Langford to sponsor an event to coincide with Barack Obama’s inauguration as president on Jan. 20. The event will be held at Boutwell Auditorium and will include a simulcast of the swearing-in from Washington.

– The Associated Press

Council members discussed holding an event in a downtown park where civil rights marchers were confronted by police and firefighters during marches in 1963.