The General's Briefing

I have 5 businesses. I'm a PhD candidate. I'm a federal program manager. I'm a campaign manager. I'm a community organizer. I'm a mother of two autistic boys. I'm suing the school district and my apartment complex. And by every metric, I'm winning. But I'm also exhausted. And I'm lonely. And I just realized: I haven't been in a relationship longer than 9 mon...

In 1995, Terry McMillan gave us  Waiting to Exhale —four Black women waiting for Black men to get it together. Waiting for them to commit. Waiting for them to choose them. Waiting for them to show up. Waiting to exhale. Thirty years later, in 2026, we're STILL waiting. The last time I was in a relationship that lasted longer than 9 months was from August 2005 to January 2009. That's 3.5 ye...

Twenty years ago, I was raped by a man named Jino Vitale. I went to the hospital. I had a rape kit done. I told the man I loved. And nothing happened. No arrest. No justice. No accountability. Not because the system failed me—though it did. But because I left the hospital before the police arrived. Because the man I loved, Chance, didn't believe me. He said I was only saying it happened becaus...

In 1991, John Singleton released  Boyz n the Hood  with a devastating statistic: "One out of every twenty-one Black American males will be murdered in their lifetime. Most will die at the hands of another Black male." This is the perilous environment—the crooked room Black boys are born into, long before they ever have a chance to make a Faustian Bargain. Before we judge Black men for &q...

In 2016, Beyoncé released  Lemonade  and sang, "He better call Becky with the good hair." The internet exploded. And then, the most predictable thing happened: Beyoncé was blamed. Not Jay-Z. Beyoncé. Fast forward to 2026. Cardi B just had another child while separated from Offset, who cheated on her multiple times, including while she was pregnant with their first child. And the internet...

In 2001, Jay-Z released  The Blueprint  and rapped about the hustle—the streets, survival, and staying real. By 2009, on  The Blueprint 3 , he declared, "I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man." Same artist. Same series. But a completely different identity. This is the Faustian Bargain in action—the deal Black men make when they achieve mainstream success. They gain wealth, p...

In November 2023, Cassie Ventura filed a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs, alleging years of physical abuse, sexual assault, and sex trafficking. The lawsuit was settled within 24 hours. And the community said, "Well, she got her bag." Then, in May 2024, CNN released hotel surveillance footage from 2016 showing Diddy brutally assaulting Cassie in a hotel hallway. He kicked he...

On July 12, 2020, Megan Thee Stallion was shot in both feet by Tory Lanez. She told the truth. She identified her shooter. And instead of being believed, she was put on trial—not just in a courtroom, but by us, by the community that should have protected her. Her body was scrutinized. Her sexuality was weaponized. Her pain was turned into a meme. People made jokes. They questioned her story. They...

On February 19, 2026, I organized a historic gubernatorial forum in DeKalb County, Georgia, bringing together candidates, elected officials, and hundreds of voters to engage in the work of democracy. But while I was doing that work as a Black woman, over 350,000 Black women lost their jobs in 2025. Black women's unemployment rate surged from 5.4% to 7.3%, the highest in four years. We made up...

Welcome to the first briefing. In this episode, The General introduces the frameworks that will guide this entire series: the Faustian Bargain and the Sacrificial Bargain—two distinct paths Black men and Black women navigate when they achieve success in America.