Reimagine LGBTQ+ Community Forum
In this bookend to the Table Talk series and other related programs by and for underrepresented communities, Reimagine invites LGBTQ+ folks and allies to meet one another and plan future programming focusing on this central question: What does it mean to live and die well as LGBTQ+ people? This forum will feature brief presentations from Table Talk speakers, Reimagine Senior Programmer Andrew Ingall (he/him), and will be facilitated by Cori Alegria (she/her) and Ari Simon (they/them).
About Table Talk
A Table Talk is an honest, lively, and unscripted conversation among health professionals, spiritual and faith-based leaders, artists and other creative individuals to address this central question: "What does it mean to live and die well in our respective communities?" Every community and culture -- Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American, Disabled, LGBTQ+, etc. -- has its own unique perspective and shared truth. We face tremendous challenges in dealing with serious illness, dying, grief, discrimination, and inequity. At the same time we search for space to connect, flourish, remember, and celebrate.
Many of us describe more than one of these groups as home, and many of us have experienced oppression based on multiple aspects of our intersecting identities: race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and more. At present, we have few spaces to talk about these questions freely, in ways that make sense for who we are. That’s why Reimagine launched Table Talk. While this ongoing series is explicitly created by and for underrepresented communities, we invite people of all backgrounds to join us to witness, listen and learn. Ultimately we are creating space rooted in the principles of Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in order for everyone to thrive.
The LGBTQ+ Table Talk series, led by Reimagine’s Senior Programmer Andrew Ingall in consultation with staff and community collaborators, is a multi-hued, multi-disciplinary series that amplifies queer voices in healthy aging, mental health, and end-of-life practices. It honors the queer community’s full spectrum of racial, ethnic, and spiritual backgrounds, and celebrates artistic expression, innovation, and leadership in a time of crisis. Programming will spotlight intergenerational initiatives, new visions for elder housing, and the historical arc of caregiving from the early AIDS epidemic to current mutual aid networks developed by queer and trans people of color. Co-hosted by SAGE, the LGBTQ+ Table Talk series includes the following programs: Make This House a Home: SGL/LGBTQ+ Aging Together (May 25), De Ambiente: Grief, Faith, and the LGBTQ+ Boricua Diaspora (June 1), and Ballroom Has Something to Say...About Art, Justice & Healing (June 8).
Facilitator Bios
Consuelo “Cori” Alegria (she/her) is a Los Angelino with Black Louisianan and Mexican roots. As a queer woman of color, she believes inequality in all aspects of American life needs to be examined and brought to light especially with regard to healthcare, mental health, food access, housing, and justice. Cori has used art, journalism, and political action to effect change in areas of great injustice and social inequality. Cori currently resides between Los Angeles and her hometown of Indio, CA.
Ari Simon (they/them) is a facilitator, personal coach, community engagement practitioner, and artist. Ari developed and leads Queering Death, a community learning series exploring intersections of death, dying, and grief with queer identity and queer theory. With a background in public policy and management, Ari offers workshops, planning processes, coaching, and more to explore topics such as environmental policy, organizational change, personal geographies, queerness, and death.
