Don't you just love when you randomly catch the clock on 11:11? Or some other random number that makes you think, “Hmmmm I wonder what the universe is trying to tell me!" Well, let me tell you a little story that revealed what the universe has in store for me!

“Alexa, play 'N*ggas in Paris'"

This was said by one of the many NON- AFRICAN AMERICAN individuals in the room at the time. Around me, I can hear his friends telling him that he's gone too far, but his ego is so bold that he had the balls to say it AGAIN!

"Alexa, play 'N*ggas in Paris'."

My friend, one of the three African-American individuals in the room, gets up and leaves...not a word. Still shocked at the reality before me, I rise to leave the room and am questioned as to why there is a problem.

“I didn't mean it THAT way!" he yells.

All I can recall myself saying is “it doesn't matter what way you meant it, YOU SAID IT," and leaving the scene at once.

“I didn't mean it THAT way..."

For hours after this event, I questioned whether or not this was a racist experience. Had I been discriminated against? Was this what it really felt like to be African-American in AmeriKKKa? My answer...Yes. Yes, this was a racist experience. Yes, every African-American person in that room had been discriminated against; and YES, this is exactly what it feels like to be African-American in a culture that refuses to acknowledge your value in a world we ALL created.

The “N-word" and why YOU can't say it.

As contributing members of this society, we should not have to explain why it is not okay for people to use a degrading racial slur from a past of dehumanization and cruelty when addressing any person or object of color. The “N-word" has roots in a history that neither AmeriKKKa or the individuals who so heavily embrace the word want to face. It's a history that we all seldom talk about, but so greatly despise.

“It happened, get over it already", they exclaim, but how can we move on from a past that we are forced to face every day in media, music, art and so many other places? For people who don't have roots in the African-American community, who don't face discrimination simply from the color of one's skin, we don't expect YOU to know what it feels like to be us. We don't expect you to put yourselves in our shoes because you simply can't. We just want you to give consideration and respect, acknowledgment for the SH*T that we have to face every day, to ultimately have the compassion to support us, to show us that we too exist.

Black Power is my purpose.

I know you're wondering, “What does any of this have to do with numerology or spiritual awakenings?" Well, after reflecting on this event and determining what value it should hold in my life, I referenced a tool that always draws meaning out of life's crazy charades—Numerology. See, to me numbers communicate a lot more than words do in some cases, and this one was no exception. It was not a shock to me that the individual at the party said “The N-Word"; it's normalized in every form of media we embrace. What made this such an interesting experiencing was that he said it TWICE....to me this was a sign that I couldn't overlook. My introspection didn't stop with the number two though, I was not alone in this. My friend and I were two of the four African-American people in the room and to me, it was no coincidence that the phrase was stated twice and that only the two of us reacted. What significance did this hold?

Angel Number 22

In Numerology, "Angel number 22 is a powerful sign from your angels that you are on purpose in life and about to turn your dreams into reality." 22 is considered the "Master Number" and possesses an extraordinary powerful vibration. It is an "expression of the highest intention of your angels, which is service to humanity."

To me, this was not a calling, or a spiritual awakening...it was an affirmation of who I already knew I was, who I already know I AM! To me, Black Power IS Black Liberation, and I have always felt my purpose was to encourage liberation in my people first! The clock strikes 11:22 as I write this, the same number I saw on the clock as I came to this same realization of who I am and what my purpose in life must be!

In a time where we are all seeking what it means to be the “Self," what it means to love the “Self," we should all take a second and look at who we want to be in this world, and if that's the person we have needed all along.