Now in its sixth year, Mindful + Melanated is preparing to host its annual Strong Black Women Redefined Conference on Oct. 10. The conference is the first of its kind in New England that specifically centers Black women’s mental health.

Located at the Boston-Dedham Hilton, this year’s theme is “Less Hustle, More Flow: Celebrating Black Girl Day Off.”

Founder Regina Renaye talked about why she chose the theme for this year’s conference, including her intentionality around choosing the date to coincide with the new, unofficial holiday, “Black Girl Day Off” on Oct. 11, which “encourages Black women to take a mental day off to focus on their emotional well-being.”

“I chose the theme of “Less Hustle, More Flow” this year, because (of) my own personal experience,” she said. “Doing the most can really lead to burnout, and burnout is real. I have found for myself, and anecdotally, other Black women say they feel weird when they rest. They feel like they should be doing something. … Rest is a verb. …Rest is restorative. You need the rest in order to do what you need to do.”

The one-day conference will be filled with workshops, speakers and activities for participants, focusing on mental health, wellness and joy.

A major highlight of the event is the celebrity keynote speaker, Tanya Wright. She is best known for her television roles on “Orange Is the New Black” and “True Blood.” Wright has shifted her energy from the hustle of Hollywood to her passion project supporting children’s literacy.

Renaye also shared why she intentionally hosts her conference for Black women and their mental health.

“We are in a unique position in society and within our own community, where we’re usually the breadwinners or the more public-facing producers in our community vs. other communities,” she said. “We still have to get up to go to work every day, but we also have to make sure kids get fed. … We’re carting kids to different activities, karate, soccer, but we still gotta look good, and you better smile. You want us to be feminine and friendly, but you also want us to provide. These are the conversations that we have.”

Additionally, Renaye notes that the mental and physical health care spaces are often not built to be supportive of Black women, which leads to misdiagnosis or a complete dismissal of symptoms.

“We have to deal with sexism, racism; we also have to deal with unrealistic expectations within our community, and it’s generational, and so it’s ingrained in us — we think this is normal,” she said. “This is not normal, and I think that’s why all types of Black women come to the conference.”

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