Sen. Mitt Romney participates in Black Lives Matter march in Washington

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) joined a march organized by religious leaders in Washington, D.C. Sunday.

The "faith-based" march was organized by local pastors, The Washington Post reports , inspired by the Selma-to-Montgomery marches of 1965.

About 1,000 demonstrators walked from Ward 7 in Washington to the White House, in silence for some time, and at other times chanting "black lives matter" and singing the gospel songs such as "Amazing Grace" and "This Little Light of Mine" along the way .

"Our protest needs to be different," one pastor said . "It does need to be more spiritual."

Many signs held by protesters displayed bible verses, such as "Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly" and "Let justice roll like waters."

Romney told a Post reporter he was marching "to end violence and brutality and to make sure that people understand that black lives matter."

He later posted photos of himself in the crowd , with a simple caption: "Black Lives Matter."

The day before, Romney shared a photo of his father participating in a civil rights march in the 1960s.

This story was originally published by Spencer Burt on KSTU in Salt Lake City, Utah.