Yet history reminds us that laws have also defended injustice, prolonged inequality, and restricted opportunity. This sentence asks us to distinguish between respect for the rule of law and blind acceptance of every law ever written.
William Eric Waters is an award-winning poet, fiction writer, essayist, educator, criminal-justice scholar, and nonprofit executive. Writing as William E. Waters, he is the author of the epic poem Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass and three poetry collections: Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, The Black Feminine Mystique, and The Black Blood of Poetry. Under the pen name Easy Waters, he is the author of the novel Streets of Rage and the short-story collection Conundrums: Stories of Law & Justice. His work explores Black history, race, law, punishment, institutional power, accountability, redemption, and resilience.
Amen and Amen! This reminds me of Henry David Thoreau’s 1849 classic, “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” and Martin L. King. Jr. use of the concept in his 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
I assign MLK’s letter in the course I teach on African American Literature. Then I
have the students write a letter to a government official, religious leader or prison official, such as the Commissioner of NYS DOCCS. I might do this with the master’s degree program this fall.
William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters 
Amen and Amen! This reminds me of Henry David Thoreau’s 1849 classic, “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” and Martin L. King. Jr. use of the concept in his 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
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Yes. I assign MLK’s Letter in the course I teach on African American Literature in the 20th Century. Then have the students write a letter.
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I assign MLK’s letter in the course I teach on African American Literature. Then I
have the students write a letter to a government official, religious leader or prison official, such as the Commissioner of NYS DOCCS. I might do this with the master’s degree program this fall.
LikeLike