It’s Time to Find Our Way Back to Community

Here we are in 2026, and in far too many ways, it feels like not nearly enough has changed.

Turn on the news on any given day and the headlines can feel relentless: another shooting, another act of violence, another family grieving, another civil right being threatened or stripped away. People are being assaulted, robbed, killed by civilians and police alike, and communities are carrying the weight of it all.

And if you’re a parent like me, there are moments when you can’t help but wonder: What kind of world did I bring my children into?

Because somewhere along the way, we seem to have lost some of our connection to one another.

We’re living in a society that increasingly rewards individualism, self-interest, and the constant pursuit of me, myself, and I. Social media certainly hasn’t helped. Everybody has an opinion, everybody has a platform, and far too many folks seem more interested in tearing someone down than figuring out how we might actually build something together.

The idea of community- real community– requires something different from us.

It requires looking out for one another. It means understanding that we have responsibilities beyond ourselves. It means supporting, encouraging, protecting, and empowering one another, even when there is nothing immediately in it for us.

I believe deeply in standing in solidarity with my community. I believe in advocating not only for my own civil rights, but for the rights of folks who may not have the access, opportunity, safety, or platform to speak out against the injustices happening around them every single day.

And I still believe we are infinitely stronger together than we will ever be fighting alone.

The problem is, somewhere along the way, too many of us forgot how to fight together.

We see it even within social justice and nonprofit spaces. Organizations doing similar work sometimes become so focused on being the one to solve a community’s problems that collaboration becomes secondary. Resources become guarded. Credit becomes important. Competition creeps into spaces where partnership should exist.

But no single person, organization, movement, or leader is going to save a community.

Because, come on now, that’s not how community works.

Our communities are filled with people and organizations carrying different strengths, knowledge, relationships, lived experiences, and resources. Imagine what could happen if instead of constantly reinventing the wheel (or fighting over who gets credit for building the damn thing) we actually pooled those resources together.

Imagine what becomes possible when we stop asking, “How can I get ahead?” and start asking, “How can we move forward?”

Because I believe, on a deeper level, most of us understand that we were created to live for something greater than ourselves.

Supporting someone else’s success doesn’t diminish our own. Sharing knowledge doesn’t make us less powerful. Opening a door for someone else doesn’t mean there will no longer be room for us.

There is room for all of us!

And that’s exactly why we have to intentionally embrace, celebrate, nurture, respect, and support one another. Our differences aren’t something we need to overcome… they’re opportunities to learn from experiences beyond our own.

So maybe it’s time for us to change the cycle.

To reinvest in our communities and, more importantly, reinvest in each other.

Think about the folks you can connect- or reconnect- with. Think about where your knowledge, resources, influence, time, or simply your encouragement could make a difference. Share what you know. Support somebody else’s vision. Make the introduction. Open the door. Show up. Collaborate. Encourage somebody who may have forgotten just how capable they are.

Community isn’t something that simply exists because we live near one another or share an identity.

Community is something we choose to build and cultivate. Let me say that again… Community is something we choose to build and cultivate…

And if we want something different for our children, our neighborhoods, and the generations coming behind us, then we have to be willing to build it together.

Because when we invest in one another, we aren’t just helping somebody else succeed.

We are creating the kind of community (and the kind of world) we keep saying we want to see.