{"id":19945,"date":"2026-07-02T19:24:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T19:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=19945"},"modified":"2026-07-02T19:24:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T19:24:50","slug":"we-are-already-unified-stop-debating-start-doing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/02\/we-are-already-unified-stop-debating-start-doing\/","title":{"rendered":"We Are Already Unified: Stop Debating, Start Doing"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Carla Thomas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Carla Thomas<\/p>\n

The Truth Contributor<\/p>\n

In light of the OWE Festival incident, I see a lot of people asking, \u201cWhat do we do now? Where do we go from here?\u201d And I\u2019ve seen a lot of good but different suggestions. I want to encourage and caution us to not get caught up in trying to \u201cunify\u201d in the traditional sense of the word.<\/p>\n

Too often, when we say “unity,” what we really mean is everyone agreeing on one strategy, one leader, one organization or one solution. And history has shown us that’s rarely how real progress happens. Real progress happens when people are committed to the same destination, even if they’re taking different roads to get there.<\/p>\n

Some believe the priority is addressing violence in our community and so-called Black-on-Black crime. Great, find the people who share that focus and do the work. Every life saved strengthens the foundation of our community. Every conflict prevented is one less family grieving and one more opportunity for our people to thrive.<\/p>\n

Others believe that prayer is the answer. Perfect, unify with other prayer warriors and organize around that. If you believe spiritual warfare requires a spiritual response, then pray with intention, pray consistently and let those prayers be matched with action that reflects the change you’re asking God to bring.<\/p>\n

If you believe we need to start by patrolling our communities, then unite with others who are ready to take it to the streets. Be visible. Build relationships. Let our neighborhoods know somebody cares enough to show up, not just speak up after another tragedy.<\/p>\n

A lot of people believe it starts with the parents. Then get with others who feel the same way and take action. Mentor young mothers and fathers. Create support systems. Teach, encourage and equip families, because strong homes build strong communities.<\/p>\n

Some believe we need to prioritize reaching our youth. If that is your calling, then mentor, coach, volunteer, listen and show up. We cannot complain about who is influencing our young people if we are not willing to be a positive influence ourselves. They need people willing to invest in them, not just criticize them.<\/p>\n

My point is, all of these issues intersect. There is no right or wrong, just different places to start. We are already unified in a common goal: a stronger, safer community.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s make sure we\u2019re not spending our precious time debating where to start. Too many conversations never turn into action because everyone is busy arguing over the “right” approach. And in the meantime, the problems continue to grow. If everyone just commits to the work that speaks to them, with like-minded people, we will actually get something done.<\/p>\n

And we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. There are already people and organizations in this community mentoring, feeding, coaching, counseling, praying, organizing and doing the work every single day. Instead of creating something new, let’s strengthen what’s already here by supporting them, funding them, volunteering and helping them reach even more people.<\/p>\n

WE ARE UNIFIED.<\/p>\n

We don’t all have to march in the exact same direction at the exact same time to arrive at the same destination: a healthier, safer, stronger Black community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Carla Thomas The Truth Contributor In light of the OWE Festival incident, I see a lot of people asking, \u201cWhat do we do now? Where do we go from here?\u201d And I\u2019ve seen a lot of good but different suggestions. I want to encourage and caution us to not get caught up in trying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,252],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[354],"class_list":["post-19945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial-opinion","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19945"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19947,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19945\/revisions\/19947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19945"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=19945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}