Happenings hub

Here’s a look at what’s happening around Richmond this week to help you plan your outings.

June 9

The Chamberlayne Actors Theater’s production of “Exit Laughing,” a play about three women who take their departed friend’s ashes out for one last night of fun, opens at the HATTheatre at 8 p.m. Continues through June 18. Tickets are $22-$24. cattheater.com

June 10

The music of the fourth Harry Potter film, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” comes alive in a performance by the Richmond Symphony at the Altria Theater at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. $52.50 - $119.50. Richmondsymphony.com

“Juneteenth 2023 a Freedom Celebration,” begins at Manchester Dock at 1308 Brander St. with a free night walk along the trail of enslaved Africans, with historical interpreters at 7 p.m. On Sunday, the event, presented by the Elegba Folklore Society, moves to the African Burial Ground at 1540 E. Broad St., at 4 p.m. Tickets are $5. efsinc.org

June 13 tionately impacted by anxiety and depression. They are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, three times as likely as white women to die from pregnancyrelated conditions and have higher mortality rates from obesity-related illnesses such as heart attack and stroke.

“Beyond Black Radicalism,” a talk by historian Janira Teague at the Library of Virginia at noon. The assistant professor of history at Norfolk State University will discuss how African-Americans migration to New York shaped electoral politics. Registration is required for this free event. lva.virginia.gov.

Gospel singer Johnathon McReynolds performs at The National at 8 p.m.

The Grammy-award winning Chicago native has been called “the future of gospel music” by Kirk Franklin. Tickets are $33-$38. thenationalva.com.

She wrote her 19th book, “The Strong Black Woman,” to explore those deadly statistics and it struck a chord with readers.

“A lot of people who read and enjoyed it said they wanted to know more about my own specific practices for maintaining physical and mental health,” Ms. Golden said. “That’s what led me to write ‘The New Black Woman.’”

The Washington, D.C.-born author lives in suburban Maryland, but Ms. Golden also has a strong connection to Virginia having taught at Virginia Commonwealth University for almost a decade starting in the mid-1990s.

She said the contemplative practices and resources she shares in her latest book are ancient, used around the world and effective.

“It’s been crucial to me to help me listen to myself.” Ms. Golden said. “My contemplative practices were important in helping me maintain emotional and physical balance.”

The starting point for self-care is loving

Sampa sings

Zambian singer-songwriter, rapper and poet Sampa Tembo aka Sampa The Great, and her band perform for a crowd of thousands on Brown’s Island on Friday, June 2, as part of the Friday Cheers concert series in Downtown Richmond. Sampa and her band were the first Zambians to play the Glastonbury Festival in England and Coachella in America.

oneself, she said.

“Self-love is the beginning of all health,” Ms. Golden said. “For Black women that’s a real journey in a society, and sometimes even in our community, that marginalizes us around so many issues and takes us for granted.”

While women are often socialized to put others first, she says mental health professionals advocate differently.

“Just as on an airplane when they say put your own mask on first, in a sense we have to adopt that same policy,” Ms. Golden said. “We have to engage in radical self-care because we are not able to serve others in the way we want to if we don’t take care of ourselves.

Ms. Golden further believes that the legacy of COVID-19 has made public discussions surrounding health and self-care acceptable and urgent.

“We are in a revolutionary period,” she said. “So many Black women are talking about their health. So many Black women are concerned about their health — both mental and physical.

“We’re witnessing the evolution of a new Black woman.”

For more information about Ms. Golden’s upcoming book and events, please visit: https:// maritagolden.com/