BREAKFAST PLANNED TO PROMOTE RACIAL UNDERSTANDING

Dawn Evans knows a little something about the "bad" part of town.

She lived there and heard the myths about whites -- that they don't care about black society and never will -- and withstood her share of insults.

Now, as president of the local NAACP, she wants to open the lines of communication between the races. Her church, the nondenominational House of Prayer, will sponsor its first Community Unity Breakfast Saturday to start people talking.

"I'm tired of everyone sitting around and talking about what's wrong," Evans said. "When there is a community problem, the community needs to work on it."

While the breakfast is a church event, Evans has the backing of the NAACP and other groups who want to see more understanding. House of Prayer took a step toward racial unity last year when Hip-Hop Heaven, an arcade featuring contemporary gospel music, started attracting black and white youth.

Things aren't perfect with the kids, but perhaps racial distrust is even worse with their parents and grandparents, Evans said.

"Prejudice is a disease that spreads through a family," she said. "I speak as a person who lived further south in town than I do now, and when many blacks come into contact with whites, walls go up. Each assumes how the other feels."

The walls become thicker as myths and phobias are reinforced, she added.

Shelly Moore, another House of Prayer member, agreed, saying that many whites view blacks as aggressive or even violent.

"Not all African-Americans fall into that group," she said. "There are many of us who want to see a change but don't know how to start. We need for a variety of people to sit down and talk things over."

The Community Unity Breakfast will be from 8 to 10 a.m. at May Greene School. The $7 adult ticket price includes a buffet breakfast and program, featuring vocal soloists Emmanuel Harris and Stafford Moore.

A panel of community leaders plans to discuss ways to get the races communicating in Cape Girardeau.

So far, ticket sales among whites have been slow, but Moore said she plans to get out and promote the event more this week.

"Even if we don't come up with a conclusion on that Saturday, it's something we can work toward," she said.

Tickets are available at My-T Sharp II, Hip-Hop Heaven, Mo' Better Videos and Ethiopian Ocean Books and Artifacts. For more information, contact Evans at 339-2744.