Renton African-American Pastors (RAAP) group, along with Renton Police Department (RPD) and the city are bringing their efforts to city streets Oct. 12 with a “Unity March.”

The march, which will start at Piazza and will end at City Hall, is the group’s attempt to promote unity given the country’s racial tensions, said RAAP member Rev. Dr. Linda Smith.

“Our focus with the Unity March is to bring people together and highlight some of the things we’ve been doing, especially with the African-American community’s relationship with the police. In the light of what’s happening in the country, we want to come together and pledge to move forward, build relationships and tear down some of the distrust so that we can live in unity within the community.”

“This is something that will bring more attention to the group itself and what we’ve been working on for 18 months — the conversations, the tough questions and tough answers,” said Deputy Chief Ed VanValey. “We’d like to expand and get more people involved in these talks. The Unity March seemed like the right time. Especially with everything going on, we needed to show that we’ve been doing the ground work to develop a relationship with the black community and [the march] is just an example.”

The march is the most recent effort of the RAAP and RPD partnership that formed in 2014 to foster trust between law enforcement and the city’s African-American community.

Previously, they’ve hosted multiple events, including workshops on education, social issues, law and justice, and employment; hosted a “Cops, Kids and Teens” event; created multiple community dialogue events; and handed out pamphlets at Gene Coulon Beach Memorial Park on July 4.

The city provided mandatory training to all employees, including police officers, regarding diversity, inclusion and implicit bias. According to VanValey, the training is instrumental in changing the perception of law enforcement.

“Traditional law enforcement is quickly shifting to community engagement… so we’re working together to solve these issues,” he said. “The community wants more engagement in a non-law enforcement setting. They want to see officers as normal people, they want to have conversations… They want to see us out in the parks, at businesses, or just walking downtown, and having discussions and knowing first names.”

The group even had a special “open dialogue” meeting, following the fatal shootings of Alton Steling, Philando Castille and Dallas police officers. The idea of a march came up during that meeting.

“We’re excited about this,” said Smith regarding the march. “Our goal is show unity. We’ve seen marches across the country when things happen, and we’re trying to work upfront to hopefully eliminate or avoid those kinds of situations.”

“Today, more than ever, our message of friendship, partnership and solidarity is critical,” said Mayor Denis Law in an email. “We hope you will join us as we unite and send a message to our community that we march together for peace, trust and unity.”

The march will start 3 p.m., Oct. 12 at Piazza Park, 233 Burnett. Ave. S., and will end at City Hall.