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.

The Anatomy of Advocacy: Transforming Criminal “Justice” in New York

Posted on August 11, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Starting July 13, 2025, a Four-Part Series titled “The Anatomy of Advocacy” will explore a criminal legal system advocacy movement led by formerly incarcerated individuals. It highlights New York’s “tough on crime” era, the formation of the Ad Hoc Committee on Lifetime Parole, strategic campaigning, and lessons learned for successful advocacy efforts. Continue reading →

Posted in crime, ezwwaters, Justice Chronicles, Life Sentences, Murder, Parole, Politics, race, Reentry | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Exploring the Legacy of Anti-Blackness in Poetry

Posted on August 6, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

I have been working on The Black Blood of Poetry for several years. Over the next 30 days, I will be revising the manuscript to submit to contests and publishers. My Artist Statement about The Black Blood of Poetry: The … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, ezwwaters, Growing Up, Lest We Forget, Osborne Association, Poetry, Politics, race, raising black boys, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, Streets of Rage | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Toni Morrison Slays Moby Dick

Posted on April 28, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Toni Morrison writes that Moby Dick is “[a] complex, heaving, disorderly, profound text.” In my attempt, in my teens and twenties, to read as many “classics” as possible, I set out, like Ahab, to conquer the great white whale of … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Education, ezwwaters, James Baldwin, Politics, race | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Exploring Book Bans: The Impact on Black Literature

Posted on February 3, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On a recent summer trip to Virgina, where one could argue that it all began in 1619, that is, the enslavement of Africans in what would become the United States of America, I stopped at a Barnes & Noble.  During … Continue reading →

Posted in Black History Month, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, ezwwaters, Lest We Forget, Martin Luther King, Politics, race, Religion, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Happy Black History Week!

Posted on February 2, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Uplifting my Black History Month Series Blog! Continue reading →

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Significance of Black History Month: A Deep Exploration

Posted on February 2, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Uplifting my Black History Series Blog. Next year will be the 100th Anniversary of what we know call Black History Month! Continue reading →

Posted in Black History Month, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Lest We Forget | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Understanding MLK’s Legacy and America’s Complicated Past

Posted on January 19, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

The author’s political awakening began with the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, marking a profound shift in societal consciousness and the end of the Civil Rights Era. Reflections on history reveal a complex narrative dominated by white perspectives, with 1968 identified as a pivotal and traumatic year for America’s identity. Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, ezwwaters, Growing Up, Lest We Forget, Martin Luther King, Politics, race, raising black boys, Relationships, Religion, Revolution, Streets of Rage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sausage, Cabbage, and Black Bread

Posted on September 21, 2024 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

During my seven-hour flight to Frankfort, Germany, I watched “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.”  Based on the book, Churchill’s Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII by Damien Lewis, the movie is a fictionalized … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Rereading Richard Wright’s Black Boy

Posted on July 12, 2024 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

When I first read Richard Wright’s Black Boy more than 40 years ago when I was a teenager, little that I knew about literature,  I thought the writing was superb.  I was doing a little writing then and thought Wright … Continue reading →

Posted in being a teenager, Black patriotism, crime, Family, Fatherhood, Fathers, Growing Up, raising black boys, Relationships, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Fourth of July Day Lynching

Posted on July 5, 2024 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

For Norris Dendy 07.04.1933 (Clinton, South Carolina) To the Negro, what is the Fourth of July? A picnic celebration with family and friends Not a day to be beaten, not a day to die! On this celebration of Independence,  still … Continue reading →

Posted in crime, ezwwaters, Family, Lest We Forget, Poetry, race | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment