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.

On this day in American history, August 21, 1831 — Nat Turner Leads Enslaved Black People in Virginia Rebellion

Posted on August 21, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Nat Turner was an enslaved black man who lived in Southampton, Virginia. By many accounts, Turner was a very religious man who ministered to fellow enslaved blacks as well as whites. Turner studied the Bible fervently and often claimed to … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 20, 1619 — First Enslaved Africans Land in Jamestown, Virginia

Posted on August 20, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

The stage was set for slavery in the United States as early as the 14th century, when Spain and Portugal began to capture Africans for enslavement in Europe. Slavery eventually expanded to colonial America, where the first enslaved Africans arrived … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 18, 1995 — NAACP Protests Uncovering of “Faithful Slave” Monument

Posted on August 18, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On August 18, 1995, the NAACP sent a letter of protest to the Department of the Interior to protest the uncovering of a decades-old monument in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. In October 1859, white abolitionist John Brown led a raid … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 17, 1965 — Days of Riots End in Watts

Posted on August 17, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On the evening of August 11, 1965, a police officer pulled over brothers Marquette and Ronald Frye in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. A crowd gathered to watch and quickly grew as officers questioned the young men. Police … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 16, 2006 — Florida Attorney General Names Suspects in 55-Year-Old Civil Rights Murders

Posted on August 16, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On the evening of December 25, 1951, a bomb exploded at the Florida home of Harry and Harriette Moore, killing the couple on their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. Harry Moore’s mother and the couple’s daughter were asleep in adjoining rooms but … Continue reading →

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On this day in Amrican history, August 15, 1963 — Nine Years After Brown v. Board, Virginia Teenagers Jailed For Protesting Segregated Public Education

Posted on August 15, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On August 15, 1963, thirty-two teenaged protestors who challenged the Prince Edward County School Board’s refusal to integrate their public school system were released from jail. The juveniles had been arrested in two separate demonstrations held in the town of … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 14, 1908 — Race Riot Erupts in Springfield, MO

Posted on August 14, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On August 14, 1908, a mob of white citizens gathered at the local jail in Springfield, Illinois, planning to lynch two black men, George Richardson, who was accused of raping a white woman, and Joe James, accused of raping a … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 13, 1955 — Voting Rights Activist Lamar Smith Murdered in Mississippi

Posted on August 13, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On the morning of August 13, 1955, Lamar Smith, a 63-year-old African American farmer and veteran of World War I, was shot and killed in front of the Lincoln County Courthouse in Brookhaven, Mississippi, while encouraging African Americans to vote … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 12, 2013 — Federal Court Rules NYPD “Stop and Frisk” Policy Unconstitutional

Posted on August 12, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Under the New York City Police Department’s controversial “stop-and-frisk” policy, police routinely stop and patdown individuals on city streets, checking for weapons or evidence of criminality. Between 2004 and 2009, the department conducted 2.8 million such stops. In place for … Continue reading →

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On this day in American history, August 11, 2017 — White Nationalists Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia

Posted on August 11, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On the evening of Friday, August 11, 2017, an assembly of more than 200 members of white supremacist, alt-right, neo-Nazi, and pro-Confederate groups from throughout the country converged on the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, for a torch-lit march … Continue reading →

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