A very unconventional memorial was held in Niagara Square on Tuesday, July 12. Instead of political grandstanding, there was conversation. Instead of anger, there was a genuine desire to come together as a community to heal our divisions and prevent in Buffalo the violence that has wracked Baton Rouge, St. Paul, and Dallas. #WNYHealsTogether was unstructured, crossing boundaries to forge friendships and understanding. At one point, everyone present was asked to turn to the person next to them and strike up a conversation.

I have lived in more than half a dozen cities on three different continents over the past 50 years. In none of these places did people talk to each other like we do in Buffalo. Standing in line at Wegmans, pouring gas at Delta Sonic, walking on Ring Road in Delaware Park...we nod, we smile, and we often end up chatting. It's actually quite unusual, one of the things that makes Buffalo so special. It really is the City of Good Neighbors.

Perhaps it's this attribute that will help us bridge Main Street, our municipal deep divide which is becoming more dangerous by the day. Events bring us together. They foster conversations by bringing diverse groups of people into close proximity. And they can also be fun!

For example, the 716 Unity Ride at Noon on Saturday, July 16 (that's 716 Day, by the way!) is a very visible, symbolic way to proactively bring our community together. Buffalo Common Councilmembers Joel Feroleto and Ulysees Wingo came up with the idea, and they astutely chose to team up with Slow Roll Buffalo to make it happen. The bicycle ride starts at Niagara Square and will physically and symbolically connect the city via its Olmsted parks and parkways, first heading to Martin Luther King, Jr, park, then on to Delaware Park, and finally to Olmsted's "gem," Front Park. Riders will head back towards Niagara Square for a 2:00pm after-party at Expo (617 Main Street) where food, drinks, and live music by the Unity Band will continue the convivial spirit. Both the ride and party are open to all. Conversation is strongly encouraged.

Or you could pop in to the Pop up Park at Grant and Delavan on Friday. If you don't have a child to bring, instead bring some spare tools or raw materials and a willingness to pitch in and work with kids who are building their own fun by thinking creatively and practically. PUSH Green is sponsoring this Pop up Park. What better place to start conversations than with our city's future leaders?

If you see gaggles of millennials milling about Buffalo this weekend, say hi. The Rust Belt Coalition of Young Preservationists is hosting its second annual Rust Belt Takeover weekend here. They will be on Niagara and Grant streets Friday evening, at Silo City, in Larkinville, Downtown and back on Niagara Street on Saturday, and at the Richardson Olmsted Complex and in Delaware Park on Sunday. Conversations do not have to be about race, hate, gun control, or violence to be relevant. They can be about common interests and shared passions. These are the things that bring us together, revealing what we have in common, what makes us a community, and what we share with other communities. This event is sold out, but I'm certain those attending would love to have a conversation with you.

Last weekend, Commonbound brought to Buffalo another group of people with powerful visions for the future. A cross-section of community leaders, thinkers, and practitioners from around the world met to share strategies and stories, build relationships, highlight achievements, and chart a shared path toward a society that puts people and the planet first. The Crossroads Collective, a coalition of eight local changemaking organizations, hosted this New Economy Coalition event that addressed many of the issues that underlie the types of violence that are wracking the nation. It was held here because Buffalo is "an important hub of the New Economy story. Faced with the same disinvestment that has torn through countless towns and cities along America’s Rust Belt, residents working across issues-from affordable housing, to refugee rights, to community-owned renewable power-have been at the forefront of visionary organizing and institution-building." It's not enough to hope that this is true, we must make it so.

I'm old enough to remember the riots in Buffalo in June, 1967. The simmering anger which is boiling over into violence on streets across the nation now is strongly reminiscent of that tumultuous era. Sadly, many of the same inequities that ruled then remain in place today, and Buffalo remains far too divided. We must pull down all barriers and become a unified, just community. This can start with meaningful conversations, providing we each build upon those words and understanding to take concrete steps to come together, and eschew the hate speech which only serves to undermine and undo these conversations.