Background
Hilerie Lind is a PhD scholar at Clark Atlanta University, a published author, a community organizer, and the owner of Reparations Books and Cafe in Brookhaven, Georgia.
Her work sits at the intersection of Black Feminist Theory, cultural criticism, and political action—bridging the academy, the streets, and the page.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Hilerie's journey to scholarship was anything but traditional. She holds two master's degrees and spent years in project management before answering the call to deeper intellectual work. In 2023, she ran for Mayor of Brookhaven as a challenger to the political establishment, centering her campaign on affordable housing, community accountability, and the displacement of legacy Black residents. Though she didn't win the seat, she won something more valuable: a clearer understanding of how power operates in the "Black Mecca" and a commitment to exposing it through her scholarship.
Her dissertation, The Price of the Ticket: A Feminist Analysis of the "Selling Out" Narrative in Black Culture, introduces two original theoretical frameworks: The Faustian Bargain and The Sacrificial Bargain. These frameworks reveal how the critique of "selling out" functions as a gendered weapon—one that polices Black men for their relationship to capitalism and authenticity, while punishing Black women for their bodies, their relationships, and their refusal to be controlled. Drawing on the foundational work of Patricia Hill Collins, Melissa Harris-Perry, and Moya Bailey, Hilerie's research traces these bargains from the controlling images of slavery to the contemporary scrutiny of figures like Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion, and Cardi B.
Hilerie is also a pioneer in Africana Digital Humanities, using tools like Voyant, StoryMap JS, and oral history archives to make her scholarship accessible and visually compelling. Her current projects include an interactive map of Atlanta as the "Crooked Room"—a spatial analysis of how displacement and political fragmentation underpin the city's celebrated image as the Black Mecca.
Her first book, What If I Told You I Was Worthy Before?, is a raw, autoethnographic account of her search for love and her journey to reclaiming her inherent worth. Written under the pen name "General Denise," the book serves as the lived-experience foundation for her academic theories and has resonated deeply with Black women navigating similar battles.
As Chair of Special Events and Brookhaven Community for the DeKalb County Democratic Committee, Hilerie has organized candidate forums, voter education events, and community gatherings that center transparency, accountability, and grassroots power. She is a staunch advocate for public education, having fought—and continues to fight—DeKalb County Schools for the safety and dignity of her son after the state ruled the district created an "objectively unsafe environment."
Hilerie's work has focused on topics including Black feminist epistemology, the politics of displacement, and the intersection of culture and power in the Hip-Hop Generation.
She is currently developing a documentary series based on her dissertation research, conducting oral history interviews with key figures in hip-hop culture to explore how they theorize their own experiences of the Faustian and Sacrificial Bargains.
Hilerie lives in Brookhaven with her family. She is a believer in God, a lover of good books, and a fighter for the communities that raised her.
