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The state leader of a well-known gang stepped forward Monday morning and said he wanted to give peace a chance.

Flanked by fellow gang members and his two young daughters, ages 10 and 5, Jorge Cornell, 31, "Inca" of the Latin Kings in North Carolina, said he was reaching out to rival gangs such as the Bloods and the Crips, and that he was heartened by the response.

"The peace is already starting," he said, wearing a yellow Latin Kings T-shirt and a pair of tattooed tear drops under his left eye.

It was a powerful moment. And it was a hopeful, utterly surprising development. Should we believe him?

We should certainly want to believe him. While still far from levels elsewhere in the country, gang activity is growing in North Carolina. If communities don't take urgent steps now, it could become much worse.

The proof will come in the actions that follow Cornell's words, spoken during a news conference at Faith Community Church. Cornell said he wanted to sit down with other gang members. And he reached out to church leaders in the black community. That in itself is a promising start.

He also called on the media to "get the word out so we can preach peace."

Less clear was Cornell's explanation as to why he was calling for peace now. He cited what he alleged was a warrantless arrest by Greensboro police and what he suggested is persecution of the entire Latino community for the misdeeds of a few. And, while he may have called for the truce among gangs, it would have been even more encouraging if he also had called for an end to all gang crime and violence in the community.

Ironically, on the very same morning as the news conference, "a validated member of the Latin Kings" was featured in the News & Record's weekly feature, "Guilford's County's Most Wanted." He has been charged with attempted murder.

Still, this small step toward progress could be a very important one. And even if that peace begins with rival gangs not battling one another, it's not insignificant. Some of the highest-profile gang violence has involved innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire. In 2007, a 13-year-old girl was fatally shot during a birthday party in Salisbury. Only months ago, a spate of drive-by shootings into Greensboro houses were traced to rival gangs.

Some of us, meanwhile, may question the involvement of the Rev. Nelson Johnson in Monday's announcement. After all, Johnson is no stranger to controversy, especially as it pertains to the Nov. 3, 1979, Klan-Nazi shootings in Morningside Homes and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission formed four years ago to revisit that event.

But that was then and this is now. We have called for the local faith community to be an active part of the gang solution. That's what Johnson and a fellow clergyman, the Rev. Gregory Headen, appear to be doing.

If they can make a helpful difference, more power to them.