SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Some residents in Oak Park, including a relative of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said they never thought the day would come when a black man would be nominated for president of the United States.

"I was raised in an area where the blacks had to stay on one side of town, (and) weren't allowed on the other side of town where the whites were," said Helen King, a cousin of Dr. King's.

King, 74, was there to watch her cousin's "I Have A Dream" speech.

On the 45th anniversary of Dr. King's historic speech, the Oak Park resident was able to watch another historic moment on Thursday as Sen. Barack Obama accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for president.

But King said Obama's march to the Oval Office isn't finished and will be an uphill climb.

"It is going to be a struggle because he is black," she said.

On Thursday night, however, neighbor's who watched Obama's speech with King said they felt that Obama's run for president brings hope that things have changed and will continue to change in the future.

"It is going to represent change for all of the people," said Julius Major, an Oak Park Resident. "Change for all the world."