Table Talk
A series created by and for people of color and other underrepresented communities to openly explore what it means to live and die well.
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?
Each community and culture -- Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American, Disabled, LGBTQ+, etc. -- has its own unique perspective and shared truth. And each faces tremendous challenges in dealing with serious illness, dying, grief, discrimination, and inequity. Unfortunately, at present, we have few spaces to talk about these issues freely, in ways that make sense for who we are. What we have in common is the search for space to connect, flourish, remember, and celebrate.
Many of us describe more than one group as our “home,” and many of us have experienced oppression based on multiple aspects of our intersecting identities: race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and more. So, while this ongoing series is explicitly created by and for specific 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.
With generous support from the Fetzer Institute and the John and Wauna Harman Foundation, we will synthesize our learnings and share them with a wider audience.
To view recordings of the Fall 2020 Table Talk pilot focusing on the African-American community, click here.
Our tables stay in our families for generations, holding scars and scratches from the hardest discussions but remain strong throughout our lives.
Our Table Talks
Juneteenth is Coming! Now What?
June 15, 2023
This Table Talk will be a real conversation on the historical importance of Juneteenth and our contemporary definitions of freedom.
A Grief Circle, by and for the AAPI Community
May 30, 2023
Following some history, the facilitators will offer mindfulness and somatic practices for grounding before opening up space to invite in individual and collective grief being experienced by AAPI community members.
Financial Trauma and Transformation
January 18, 2023
This gathering of wealth advocates, coaches, and therapists explores financial trauma and transformation from BIPOC and LGBTQ+ perspectives.
Cultivating Justice: A Conversation About Plant Medicine, Health and Liberation
December 21, 2022
This gathering explores the intersection of justice and nature in relationship to land sovereignty, earth-based healing traditions, and the legalization of psychedelic plants.
Multicultural Perspectives on End-of-Life Planning
November 30, 2022
Dr. Tashel Bordere, Jacqueline Boyd, and Dr. Kate Grossman lead a conversation on end-of-life planning among underrepresented communities.
Chronic Illness with Nitika Chopra and Meghan O’Rourke
August 17, 2022
Chronicon Founder/CEO Nitika Chopra and bestselling writer Meghan O’Rourke lead a conversation about living fully with chronic illness.
I’m feelin’ a way. You feelin’ a way? Grief, Mental Health & Black Communities
July 13, 2022
The bereavement crisis amongst Black folks/African Americans has always existed, but it’s reached unsurpassed levels in two years of intensive, multi-layered losses resulting from COVID, social determinants of health, racial violence, suicide, and more. What is the state of the union of Black mental health?
Climate Grief & Eco-Anxiety in Puerto Rico / Puerto Rico, paciente eco-terminal
June 15, 2022
When considering the future, survivors of natural disasters can experience symptoms similar to those who suffer from PTSD. How can we alleviate and transform eco-anxiety?
South Asian Perspectives on Palliative Care
May 31, 2022
Drawing on medicine, end-of-life doula work, spirituality, activism, and the arts, this Table Talk provides South Asian perspectives on providing comfort and palliative care to the dying.
LGBTQ+ Values, Wishes & Plans at End of Life
April 26, 2022
How do we support LGBTQ+ folks in honoring their end-of-life wishes and upholding their values? Led by Jacqueline Boyd and Marne Lucas, this Table Talk provides insight into what matters most to queer people as they plan for themselves and their loved ones.
LGBTQ2S+ Perspectives on End-of-Life Rituals
March 15, 2022
Informed by chaplaincy, traditional healing practices, and the arts, this Table Talk provides Indigenous, Buddhist, and LGBTQ+/Two-Spirit perspectives on end-of-life rituals and ceremonies.
Indigenous and LGBTQ+ Perspectives on Hospice
January 25, 2022
Informed by social work, nursing, spirituality, and traditional healing, this Table Talk offers Native and LGBTQ+ perspectives on hospice and end-of-life care.
Table Talk: Indigenous Paradigms of Grief
November 23, 2021
Informed by social work, hospice, and traditional healing practices, this Table Talk, opens the possibility of shapeshifting grief and suffering into medicine.
Table Talk: Grief Among Latino/a/x and LGBTQ+ Communities
October 27, 2021
In this Table Talk, Rev. Dr. Maria Cristina Vlassidis Burgoa and Dr. Wilfred Labiosa provide their responses to these additional questions: What are we grieving? How do we grieve? From a spiritual perspective, how does our community support those experiencing grief or trauma? What other actions can we take to support ourselves and our loved ones?
Ballroom Has Something to Say... about Art, Justice & Healing
June 8, 2021
In this Table Talk, members of the House | Ballroom Community (HBC) share their insights into the role of art in strengthening family and transforming grief into healing. House | Ballroom, a community consisting primarily of Black and brown transgender and gender-nonconforming people, has used performance at balls as a tool for resistance and spiritual expression.
De Ambiente: Grief, Faith, and the LGBTQ+ Boricua Diaspora
June 1, 2021
In this Table Talk, spirituality is the primary lens to explore how LBGTQ+ Puerto Ricans are coping, healing, and connecting.
Make This House a Home: SGL/LGBTQ+ Folks Aging Together
May 25, 2021
In this Table Talk, learn about some of the most innovative housing initiatives across the U.S. for older adults who identify as LGBTQ+ and Same Gender Loving. This discussion will showcase examples of elder housing initiatives that are realized or currently in development and reflect values of affordability and inclusivity of all sexualities and gender expressions.
Between Worlds: Life & Death in a Mixed-Race Culture
May 14, 2021
Join community leaders, educators, and artists of mixed-AAPI heritage for a conversation about grief, identity, and belonging. Together, we’ll unpack the hefty but important topic of feeling stuck in-between worlds when it comes time to honor and grieve our family, friends, and community.
A Long Way From Home: The Grief of Black Women & Mothers
May 6, 2021
As Black mothers and daughters, our minds, bodies, and spirits have been tested to the limits. Between COVID-19 and social injustice/unrest, we have experienced grief and trauma up close and from a unique point of view. At this Table Talk, Black women discuss ancestral and present-day grief passed from mother to daughter.
Homecoming: Navigating South Asian Ancestral Grief & Reclaiming Spirituality
April 30, 2021
Explore what it means to be part of the vastly diverse South Asian diaspora and how that intersects with ancestral grief and spirituality.
The panelists and audience will be invited to share how ancestral grief shows up in their life in these times, where do they draw strength from? Living across lands and generations, what does their spiritual path look like, and how does this inform making meaning of living through loss?
This is How We Feel: The Grief of Black Men
April 29, 2021
Three leaders in mental health and the study of Black masculinity share opportunities to support African-American men experiencing grief.
Death Over Dim Sum: Care to Prepare
April 16, 2021
In this iteration of Death Over Dim Sum, we discover that taking care to prepare for one’s end-of-life wishes is an act of love, not a burden. Our featured speakers offer years of experience navigating these conversations, providing care, and offering resources that support and enrich the lives of aging seniors and their families in the Asian American Pacific Islander community.
Sister Circle: A Model for Building COVID-19 Vaccine Trust
March 25, 2021
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy demonstrates that time has not fully healed these wounds. However, a group of Black physicians in North Carolina have decided that history is not going to determine who lives and dies in their communities. Meet the Sister Circle: Dr. Michele Benoit-Wilson, Dr. Jacqueline Hicks, Dr. Tiffany Lowe-Payne, Dr. Netasha McLawhorn, Dr. Rasheeda Monroe, and Dr. Nerissa Price.
Family Ties: Connection and Conflict
March 12, 2021
Join us in exploring the complex family dynamics Asian Americans are born into and how these can become the blueprint for future relationships, especially the ones we have with ourselves.
Our Vision
The table is where we gather, eat, create, and pray. It’s where we talk about what happened that day, what we dream, who we love, who we dislike, and what we desire. The table is where we interact with family, friends, allies, and rivals. The table is where all things real, bold, good, bad, beautiful, and ugly come to the light. We may not agree with each other, but we might find common ground, understanding, and insights from each other we didn’t know before.
A grandmother’s dinner table, a father’s card table, a lover’s bedside table, or maybe the first coffee table you ever bought: Our tables are worth more than we can ever measure. They stay in our families for generations, holding scars and scratches from the hardest discussions but remain strong throughout our lives.
