PANEL EXPLORES RACE-BASED DISCRIMINATION

Despite differences in age and social background, Dawn Evans, Charlene Peyton, Calvin Bird and Donna Wilson share a common bond -- discrimination.

The four Cape Girardeau residents, who are black, spoke at Central High School Wednesday afternoon about personal experiences with discrimination.

The informal panel discussion, sponsored by the school's Citizens In Action, a social studies club, concluded Black History Month activities at the school.

The after-school assembly was an effort to emphasize the contributions of the black community, said club sponsor Brenda Woemmel. "There has been a tremendous shortage of information about black contributions," she said. "African-Americans have done significant things."

But the panelists agreed that significant achievements don't always fix racism. Not talking about racial issues in the community means never fixing the problem, they said. And, they said, discrimination isn't limited to just black people; it also affects other ethnic groups and genders.

"Every ethnic group that came to the United States was discriminated against," said Charlene Peyton, an elementary music teacher and president of the Community Teachers Association. "We are the ones with the stigma of being a slave and have fought the hardest because we were not valued. But we are valuable to this nation."

Peyton, who has lived in Cape Girardeau for 20 years, grew up during segregation but always lived in integrated areas because her father pastored black churches in white neighborhoods.

She told of a white girl with whom she was a friend. "I would play and eat and sleep at her house, but when we went to the movies I had to go up to the balcony," Peyton recalled.

In high school, Peyton was nominated for both homecoming queen and Christmas queen by her classmates. But her name was removed from the list each time because "nobody wanted a black girl for queen in 1961," she said. She later became the first black homecoming queen at a California college she attended.

Although she didn't live during segregation, Dawn Evans, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, learned about discrimination as a child.

"I didn't know it was prejudice and discrimination until later," Evans said. "But I remember being hurt more than angry because I didn't understand it."

As a child growing up in Racine, Wis., Evans and her friend, Carol, who was white, often spent time together.

"Carol lived near my house and we played together," she said. "Carol had brothers and they had a tent. I wanted to go inside that tent."

But Evans wasn't allowed to go into Carol's yard because she was black.

"I remember licking my hand and rubbing it on her arm, saying, `Please tell them it won't rub off," Evans said.

The Rev. Calvin Bird, pastor of the Greater Dimension Church of God in Christ, had first-hand experience with a different form of racism: He was ostracized by his own race during high school.

"They thought I was strange because I could communicate and articulated what I wanted to say," said Bird, who grew up in Cape Girardeau. "I was rejected by my own people whom I was ready to embrace."

Eventually Bird realized that he didn't have to have everyone's approval. "It's OK if you don't like me," he said. "It makes no difference. I never asked you to like me, but you will respect me because I'm a man of conviction."

Donna Wilson, a news reporter for KFVS-TV, agreed that having a dream and a goal is important.

"Ever since I was a little girl I knew I wanted to be a newspaper reporter," said the St. Louis native. "So I'd sit in front of the mirror and practice. I did things to prepare for that."

After getting a job with an Ohio television station, the 25-year-old Wilson had to combat racism and discrimination.

"I struggled because there weren't many blacks," she said. "There weren't many blacks working there, let alone being on the air and reporting the news."

After about four months on the job, Wilson was promoted to a weekend news anchor.

One evening she overheard a conversation between the general manager and the operations manager. One of them said, "`We can't have a black person anchoring the news -- we just can't.' I was so discouraged."

Wilson said she told the news director and others in management what she had heard but she didn't let the conversation discourage her and she didn't quit.

"Instead, I let it encourage me," she said. "I thought, `I'll show you.'"

She has been living here for about a year.

Battling Prejudice

Charlene Peyton

"You don't have to be discriminated against, because you don't have to take it."

Calvin Bird

"It's time to stop crying and start coping. You can make a difference as an individual."

Dawn Evans

"Learning about people and not judging them by what they do differently or because they eat different or dress different will help you to succeed in this ever-changing, multicultural country."

Donna Wilson

"You just have to believe in yourself. You decide what you want to do then go after it. Have a plan in mind."