The General's Briefing

The day before the Georgia Democratic primary. And I'm sitting down with State Representative Derrick Jackson, the man I've been fighting for, the man I believe in, the man who is the most qualified candidate in this race. I'm his campaign manager. I've been putting up signs, organizing events, managing his social media, writing his speeches, hosting prayer calls. I've been doi...

It's Monday, May 18, 2026. The day before the Georgia Democratic primary. And I just got back from driving around DeKalb County, placing signs for State Representative Derrick Jackson. I've been doing this for weeks. Putting up signs. Taking them down when they get vandalized. Putting them back up. This is the work. This is what it means to be a campaign manager for a candidate who is the...

I need to talk about Cheyenne Bryant. And I need to be very clear about why I'm talking about her. This is not about jealousy. This is not about tearing down another Black woman. This is not about being divisive. This is about accountability. This is about protecting the integrity of Black women scholars. This is about refusing to let someone cosplay as a PhD holder when Black women like me ar...

The world is burning. And I still yearn for love." I know that sounds ridiculous. I know that sounds naive. I know that sounds like I'm not paying attention to what's happening around me. But it's the truth. The country is at war because of racism. We have the president we have because of racism. On May 13, 2026, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced that he is calling a special l...

In this episode, I teach you about the two-fold Sacrificial Bargain, the impossible choice that Black women have been forced to make for generations: OPTION 1: The Boomer Sacrificial Bargain (Silence + Community) You have a collective. You have a movement. But you have to stay silent about abuse. You have to protect predators. You have to sacrifice your truth for the sake of "unity." OPT...

On May 4, 2026, the Supreme Court issued an emergency ruling that devastated Black political power across the South. The Court struck down Louisiana's congressional map, eliminating two majority-Black districts, and gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Early voting had already begun. Black voters had already cast their ballots. And the state suspended the election. This is not just a leg...

Yesterday, I recorded three episodes. And I was sitting there wanting to record a fourth one. Not because I had something urgent to say. But because I didn't want to feel what I was feeling. I was sad as fuck. I was lonely. And I didn't know how to sit with it. So I did what I always do: I worked. I recorded episodes. I planned events. I wrote papers. I built businesses. I stayed busy so I...

I am Hilerie Lind. And I am unbought and unbossed. In this episode, I teach you about the Crooked Room, the disorienting psychological and structural space that Black women navigate, where the norms themselves are tilted against us. But the Crooked Room is not just psychological. The Crooked Room is political. The Crooked Room is the Georgia Democratic Primary. Metro Atlanta is the "Black Mec...

A few weeks ago, Kip Carr called me "the Harriet Tubman of this century." And when he said it, I didn't know what to do with it. I didn't know if I was worthy of that title. I didn't know if I could live up to it. But then he said something else. He said: "The way that some of these Black people fetch and step to Mr. Charlie, Harriet would've shot them in the back of...

In this episode, I connect my personal life to Georgia politics to show you how the Sacrificial Bargain operates everywhere, in our relationships, in our political campaigns, in our communities. I tell you about the man I was dating since February, the professional opportunity I gave him, and how he punished me when I operated in integrity. And then I show you how that same pattern is playing out...

On Sunday, April 26, 2026, I executed one of the most successful political events of my career. Over 200 people attended. The execution was flawless. And Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, a senior member of Congress, a former in the Congressional Black Caucus, Associate chair of the DNC, a woman I worked for 20 years ago, stood at that podium and said: "Twenty years ago, I gave her a job when she w...

In 1991, Eric "Eazy-E" Wright—the founder of N.W.A., the man who rapped "Fuck tha Police", attended a Republican fundraiser at the White House and met President George H.W. Bush. Most people think it was a publicity stunt. But here's what they don't know: Eazy-E was invited because he donated $2,490 to the Republican Party. He didn't challenge the system. He didn&#3...

In 1996, Tupac Shakur released a song called "How Do U Want It." It was a hit. It went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was played on every radio station, in every club, at every party. But buried in the second verse was a line that most people didn't catch. Tupac rapped: "Delores Tucker, you's a motherfucker / Instead of trying to help a nigga, you destroy a brother"...

In 1990, a federal judge in Florida declared an album legally obscene for the first time in U.S. history. The album was  As Nasty As They Wanna Be  by 2 Live Crew. Record store owners were arrested for selling it. Members of the group were arrested for performing it live. The Broward County Sheriff's Office raided stores and confiscated copies. And Luther Campbell, better known as Uncle Luke—t...

I woke up this morning feeling blah. I looked at my phone. And it was dry. Again. And it hurt. Then I thought about Monty—my first love, the man who introduced me to hip-hop. And I felt 12 years old again. Then I started yearning for love. And the anxiety crept in. So I took a nap. Because that's what I do when the pain gets too close. So I started sending out emails. Taking care of business....

Thirty years ago, I was 11 years old when I saw a boy on a talent show tape, rapping on stage. I was immediately captured. A few weeks later, he rode down my street on a moped, stopped, and we talked. And that was it. That was the beginning of everything. His name was Monty. And he was my first love. But Monty wasn't just my first romantic love. He was the boy who introduced me to the grit and...

It's Sunday morning, April 19, 2026. I'm 41 years old, four months shy of my 42nd birthday. And I just woke up with a realization: I deserve to be valued. Not simply treated as pussy. Not simply treated as "high value pussy that is supposed to be unattainable." But valued as a whole human being. And I'm asking myself: How did I get here? How did I learn to accept crumbs? How...

I always tell my friends, "Don't ever sweat a man when he disappears. Because niggas NEVER leave. Sooner or later, he will be back around." And I was right. They always come back. Always. One ex keeps calling. We were on-and-off for six years. And even though I've moved on, even though I've told him I'm done, he keeps calling. Another guy is hitting me up. I met him two y...

A few weeks ago, I received an email that changed everything. The subject line read: "Oxford Handbook of the Harlem Renaissance - Chapter Acceptance." I had to read it three times before I believed it. My chapter, "Godmother's Price: Zora Neale Hurston and the Sacrificial Bargain of Patronage"—had been accepted to the Oxford Handbook of the Harlem Renaissance, published by ...

I want to tell you about three songs that changed the way I understand love, maturation, and the impossible standards Black women are held to. These three songs span 16 years of Jay-Z's career. And together, they tell the complete story of the maturation gap between Black men and Black women: "Song Cry" ( The Blueprint , 2001) - When he wasn't ready "Lost One" ( Kingdom...

I was in the fourth grade when I bought my first TLC album.  Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip.  I had the tape. I played it until it broke. I memorized every word. I studied the album cover. I wanted to be Left Eye. By the time  CrazySexyCool  came out, I was in middle school. And TLC was everything. Me and my friends had dance routines to "Waterfalls" and "Red Light Special." I ha...

I woke up this morning exhausted. Not the kind of tired that sleep can fix. But the kind of tired that comes from disappointment. The kind of tired that comes from realizing something you didn't want to believe. I woke up this morning and I realized: Most people have a price. I've been doing community work my entire adult life. Educating my people. Putting us in spaces we've never been...

I became aware of hip-hop in the late 1990s. And the artist who shaped my understanding of love was Jay-Z. I was a teenager when  The Blueprint  came out in 2001. Jay-Z taught me what love was supposed to look like. In "A Girl's Best Friend," he rapped about diamonds and material love. In "Girls, Girls, Girls," he cataloged all the different types of women he'd been wit...

In this bonus episode, I tell the story of when I fell in love with hip-hop. I was 11 years old when I saw Monty on a talent show tape, rapping on stage. I was immediately captured. A few weeks later, he rode down my street on a moped, stopped, and we talked. And that was it. That was the beginning of everything. I talk about how I started writing rap songs in a composition book because I was in l...

An hour ago, someone sent me a message on Instagram. They said, "That 8Ball & MJG song 'Don't Make' reminds me of you." And they're right. If you know that song, you know exactly what they meant. It's the song where 8Ball is basically saying, "Don't make me have to show you who I am. Don't make me have to remind you that I'm not the one to play wi...