MILFORD -- They started out as two different groups meeting in the same city. Now, they're one large group that's met every month since the first Neighbor to Neighbor gatherings in January.

      Late last month they had a pot-luck dinner, and this month they will meet at one of Milford's predominantly African-American churches.

        ''I felt so helpless after those riots. I asked, 'What can I do?' Well, I can at least organize this. It's incredible, the momentum and the interest,'' says Cathy Barney, who organized the first Neighbor to Neighbor meeting here.

        The Milford group is one of dozens that has met again, or plans to do so, after a first conversation. It's one way communities hope to keep the momentum going.

        ''We're talking about the things that concern our community in general,'' Maggie Campbell-Reynolds says. ''We talk about our own feelings about race.''

        This month's meeting will begin at 7 p.m. April 22 at Calvary United Methodist Church, 712 Pike St. Everyone is welcome. They'll be discussing the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham Jail, written in Alabama in 1963.

        The group counts about 25 people every meeting. About one-third are African-Americans.

        ''We're still kind of finding our way,'' says Ms. Barney, who has lived in Milford for more than 10 years. ''We haven't planned anything action-wise yet, but we're kicking a bunch of ideas around.''

        Most importantly, she says, is this: ''At the very least we've made some good friendships. There's something to be said for that.''

The Police
Violence up, arrests down
Changes made since April 2001
Q&A with Police Chief Streicher
Q&A with former F.O.P. president Keith Fangman

Neighbor to Neighbor
Community meetings produce results
Going beyond polite silence
What your neighbors said
What do you think?
What's happening in 145 communities
A sampling of communities:
• Mount Healthy
• Pleasant Ridge
Milford
What institutions are doing

Related Links
Neighbor to Neighbor home page
Matters of Race: Bridging the divide in Greater Cincinnati
On the Same Page Cincinnati
Live Without Hate
Common Ground
Cincinnati 2001: Year of unrest
Unrest in the city: Archive of riot coverage
Unrest photo timeline
Jim Borgman on race