• FILE - In this June 27, 2017 photo, Ronald Smith gets on his bicycle after stopping at the Triple S Food Mart, where Alton Sterling was shot by police one year ago, in Baton Rouge, La. A year later, visitors routinely stop by the store to photograph the mural of Sterling's smiling face on its aluminum siding. Loved ones of Sterling killed by police and two law enforcement officers, one black, one white, ambushed and killed 12 days later in that city will take part in a discussion on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018 in Dallas. Photo: Gerald Herbert, AP / Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Photo: Gerald Herbert, AP
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FILE - In this June 27, 2017 photo, Ronald Smith gets on his bicycle after stopping at the Triple S Food Mart, where Alton Sterling was shot by police one year ago, in Baton Rouge, La. A year later, visitors routinely stop by the store to photograph the mural of Sterling's smiling face on its aluminum siding. Loved ones of Sterling killed by police and two law enforcement officers, one black, one white, ambushed and killed 12 days later in that city will take part in a discussion on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018 in Dallas. less
FILE - In this June 27, 2017 photo, Ronald Smith gets on his bicycle after stopping at the Triple S Food Mart, where Alton Sterling was shot by police one year ago, in Baton Rouge, La. A year later, visitors ... more
Photo: Gerald Herbert, AP
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FILE - In this July 25, 2016 file photo, a member of Baton Rouge police Cpl. Montrell Jackson's unit kneels and touches his casket during his funeral service in Baton Rouge, La. Jackson, was slain by a gunman who authorities said targeted law enforcement. Loved ones of Jackson, East Baton Rouge Sheriff deputy Brad Garafola, and Alton Sterling, who was killed by police in Baton Rouge, will take part in a discussion on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018 in Dallas. (Patrick Dennis/Baton Rouge Advocate via AP, Pool, File) less
FILE - In this July 25, 2016 file photo, a member of Baton Rouge police Cpl. Montrell Jackson's unit kneels and touches his casket during his funeral service in Baton Rouge, La. Jackson, was slain by a gunman ... more
Photo: Patrick Dennis, AP
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FILE - In this July 23, 2016 file photo, a horse-drawn carriage carries the casket of East Baton Rouge Sheriff deputy Brad Garafola in Baton Rouge, La. Loved ones of Garafola, Baton Rouge police Cpl. Montrell Jackson, and Alton Sterling, who was killed by police in Baton Rouge, will take part in a discussion on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018 in Dallas. less
FILE - In this July 23, 2016 file photo, a horse-drawn carriage carries the casket of East Baton Rouge Sheriff deputy Brad Garafola in Baton Rouge, La. Loved ones of Garafola, Baton Rouge police Cpl. Montrell ... more
Photo: Max Becherer, AP
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DALLAS (AP) — The Latest on a Martin Luther King Jr. Day discussion involving widows of police officers who were slain and others affected by violence (all times local):

8:55 p.m.

Hundreds of people have attended a Martin Luther King Jr. Day discussion that included the widows of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, police officers who were slain and others affected by violence.

U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson said during the event Monday in Dallas that "the only way you get to know anyone and to know their thoughts is to communicate with them." She added that "you can't assume everyone has had the same experiences."

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz also attended and spoke briefly. Others participating included Houston rap artist Scarface and NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.

John Carlos also took part in the event. Carlos and Tommie Smith staged one of the most iconic protests in sports history, when they raised their fists during the medals ceremony at the 1968 Olympics.

Omar Jahwar, CEO of the Dallas-based nonprofit Urban Specialists, led the main conversation.

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12:15 a.m.

Loved ones of a black man fatally shot by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and two officers — one black and one white — ambushed and killed in that city days later will take part in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day discussion.

Omar Jahwar, CEO of the nonprofit Urban Specialists, hopes Monday's event in Dallas sends "a signal of unity out."

Alton Sterling was killed July 5, 2016, in an encounter with two white officers. On July 17, 2016, a black military veteran killed three officers and wounded three others before he was shot dead.

Widows of two of the slain officers will join the mother of three of Sterling's children in the conversation.

Jahwar says "we all have to be a part of this" for it to work.