“We are all concerned about making our neighborhood better” said Philip, the host, as the five of us sat at his dining room table and listened. As a community organizer, I often had meetings like this one, but we usually talked about specific ways to work together by now. But not tonight. “But how can the council,” Philip continued, “help us make that happen?” I looked around the table to see if anyone else was going to say anything but was met with silence.