A march and event is planned Saturday evening in Phoenix in support of the Valley's Asian American and Pacific Islander community.
Organizers are expecting about 500 people at Margaret T. Hance Park. Marches and rallies against a recent rise in anti-Asian violence across the country drew hundreds to Chandler and Mesa in the past month.
"We’re trying to create a platform where the AAPI community members can have a voice to share and continue the cross-cultural communication and build that bridge because that takes a long time to do and it needs to stay in the forefront," said organizer Leezah Sun.