Hundreds Attend 34th Annual Peace March In Yakima

Hundreds of people participated in Monday's 34th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Peace March in Yakima. The march started noon at Fifth Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and continued through city streets to the Yakima Convention Center, where a community program was held. About 200 people joined the march at the beginning, but many others joined throughout the route to the convention center.

One of the organizers was Steve Mitchell, the chief executive officer at Yakima's OIC, who says America needs leadership to bring the country together. "Given the conditions in society, we need to come together as a people," Mitchell said. "We need to set all this racial stuff aside and treat each other like human beings."

Earlier in the day, a similar march was held in Toppenish. The two local events were among many throughout the state held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2019.