Breaking Bread event will focus on Latino community

A local group is hosting another gathering that will bring people together to discuss issues like race, bias, culture and the criminal justice system.

This time, instead of focusing on connecting white and Black community leaders together, the next Breaking Bread  breakfast will include dialogue with members of the Latino community.

Hosted by the OK Justice Circle, the breakfast is set for 8:30 to 11 a.m. Oct. 7 at Cantera Event Center, 1 SE 59, Suite E. The event is free but registration is required.  

The Oct. 7 event follows a Breaking Bread breakfast held in May at Millwood School. That gathering featured guest speaker Chris Singleton, whose mother died in the 2015 Charleston church shooting. Another breakfast, the first was held in March 2020 at Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church in northeast Oklahoma City, and was co-sponsored by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Rev. Jon Middendorf, senior pastor of OKC First Church of the Nazarene and member of the OK Justice Circle, said the group has been pleased with the turnout and the outcomes of the first two breakfasts. The OK Justice Circle is made up of faith and community leaders working to raise awareness in the faith community about criminal justice reform, challenges to the Oklahoma County jail and related issues like race and bias and the need for more community dialogue.

"We feel like the first two Breaking Bread events resulted in some break through moments," Middendorf said. "There are a couple of relationships that have flourished — churches and pastors — who probably wouldn't have gotten together otherwise. I also think, especially at that last event, we understood the power of empathy — the power of putting myself in the other's shoes so I can better appreciate the unique challenges that the person on the other side of the table faces by virtue of just belonging to a particular ethnic group."

He said the Oct. 7 event will include some of the same components as its predecessors, extending the "relationship-building possibilities to another segment of the community. There will be a panel discussion featuring Latino community members who will share about their experiences and the unique challenges facing their community. 

"It will be on the south side of Oklahoma City and focus on what the challenges are for the Latino community and how the rest of the community either contributes to those challenges or perhaps can help in the midst of those challenges," Middendorf said. "There's a beautiful breadth to the community — it is not monolithic."

And a highlight of the breakfast will be the opportunity for attendees to participate in discussions at their table.  

The minister said the OK Justice Circle hopes to host similar breakfast gatherings in the future, focusing on dialogue with the Asian and Native American communities.

Breaking Bread Breakfast with the Latino community

When: 8:30 to 11 a.m. Oct. 7.

Where: Cantera Event Center, 1 SE 59, Suite E.

Cost: Free.

Information: https://www.facebook.com/okjusticecircle.