Author Archives: William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

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About William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Award-winning poet, playwright, and essayist. Author of three books of poetry, "Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass: Remembrance of Things Past and Present"; "Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats"; "The Black Feminine Mystique," and a novel, "Streets of Rage," written under his pen name Easy Waters. All four books are available on Amazon.com. Waters has over 25 years of experience in the criminal legal system. He is a change agent for a just society and a catalyst for change.

ABRACADABRA! Or Notes on the War on Crime, Redux

Posted on June 11, 2020 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In 1989 I wrote an award-winning essay, “ABRACADABRA! Or Notes on the War on Crime.” In it I mentioned those magic words crimefighting politicians would utter as the solution to the “crime problem”: “more police, more prisons, longer prison terms.” … Continue reading →

Posted in crime, Justice Chronicles, Martin Luther King, police-involved killing, Politics, race, raising black boys, Streets of Rage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Fires This Time

Posted on June 5, 2020 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Last year, 2019, we marked 400 years since Africans were brought to Virginia and America’s “peculiar institution” took root. Since then, in the annals of American history, there has been systematic oppression and brutality against the descendants of Africans in … Continue reading →

Posted in being a teenager, Black patriotism, James Baldwin, Justice Chronicles, juveniles, Lest We Forget, Martin Luther King, police involved shooting, police-involved killing, Politics, race, raising black boys, Relationships, Revolution, Slavery, Streets of Rage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Race factors in reporting of criminal justice”

Posted on October 8, 2019 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In the above referenced editorial, Len Levitt’s “NYPD Confidential” column, he notes a few criminal legal cases where race may or may not have been a factor, and how readers responded.  Ironically, by the responses, you could safely bet your … Continue reading →

Posted in Murder, race, remorse, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Happy Black Independence Day!

Posted on June 19, 2019 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States, a day more important to descendants of Africans than the Fourth of July.  (Read Frederick Douglass’ classic speech, “What is the Fourth of July to … Continue reading →

Posted in Lest We Forget, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Linda Fairstein’s reckoning, not her demonization

Posted on June 18, 2019 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Len Levitt, in an Op-ed piece in amNew York, 6/18/19, “The campaign to demonize Linda Fairstein,” as it relates to her behavior to convict the Central Park Five, writes that we “seem to be going through a period of racial … Continue reading →

Posted in being a teenager, crime, juveniles, Lest We Forget | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

“NYPD detective indicted on perjury charges: DA”

Posted on April 25, 2019 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Joseph Franco, a suspended NYPD detective, was indicted for perjury, official misconduct and filing false documents in connection with narcotic cases he was involved in between 2017 and 2018.  As a result of Franco’s perjury and related charges, three people … Continue reading →

Posted in ezwwaters, Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget, Streets of Rage, Urban Impact | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On this Day in American History, April 24, 2019 – White supremacist killer of James Byrd Jr. Executed

Posted on April 25, 2019 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Some say it was “one of the most notorious hate crimes of modern times.” James Byrd Jr., a 48 year old Black male, was targeted and murdered by white racists in 1998 in Jasper, Texas. They tied him to their … Continue reading →

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#NationalRacistAnthem (My Favorite Things)

Posted on February 9, 2019 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Blood drops on roses And nooses on niggas Bright copper kettles and boiling some jiggers Brown men and brown women hung up on trees These are a few of my favorite things White-hooded Klansmen and black burning bodies Nazis and … Continue reading →

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Amadou Diallo — 20 years later

Posted on February 4, 2019 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Today is the 20th anniversary of the killing of Amadou Diallo by New York’s “Finest.” All those years ago, I wrote the following poem, which is included in my collection, “Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats”: ON A BRONX STREET … Continue reading →

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Ham Sandwiches, Indictments, and Unjust Convictions

Posted on December 28, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

One of the fundamental problems of the U.S. criminal legal system is the nearly unfettered power of prosecutors to indict, so much so that Judge Learned Hand once quipped that a prosecutor could get a ham sandwich indicted.  (Note that … Continue reading →

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