Category Archives: ezwwaters

The Dead Can’t Bury the Dead!

In Shakespeare love often happens in the context of a tragedy: Hamlet and Ophelia in Hamlet; Romeo and Juliet in the play of the same name; Othello the Moor and Desdemona in Othello; Aaron the Moor and Tamora, Queen of … Continue reading

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My Pandora

Hope remains! (Disclaimer: Ladies, women, womenfolk, and girls, I know that a man wrote the myth about Pandora, blaming women, as the writer of the Hebrew Bible also blamed a woman, Eve, for all the evils let loose in the … Continue reading

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Fiat justitia ruat caelum

Today I get to uplift an advocate and an author, Claudette Nurse. I have not met a person more passionate about justice than Claudette. (She causes “good trouble.”) She is an attorney. She worked for the Legal Aid Society, in … Continue reading

Posted in crime, ezwwaters, Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget, Life Sentences, Murder, Parole, Politics, Reentry, remorse | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Pearl Comes to Brooklyn

The past month and nearly two weeks I’ve been writing a blog post every day.  When I am in writing mode my overly active imagination goes into overdrive.  I have eureka moments, and even an epiphany or two! This morning … Continue reading

Posted in crime, ezwwaters, Family, Fathers, Justice Chronicles, Osborne Association, raising black boys, Reentry | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Let There Be Light!

Prison is a place where there is an absence of light.  The little bit of light that exists is generated from and emanates from the people imprisoned there. There is a strange architecture around the design of prisons, beginning with … Continue reading

Posted in crime, Education, ezwwaters, Growing Up, Justice Chronicles, Life Sentences, Osborne Association, Reentry | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

An American Odyssey

I like a good story, one reason why I like Greek comedies and tragedies, and I fancy myself a storyteller.  So, I’ll tell you a story. . . Once upon a time (1973), Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York State … Continue reading

Posted in crime, ezwwaters, Family, Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget, Life Sentences, Mother's Messages, Osborne Association, Politics, race, Reentry, Relationships, urban decay, Urban Impact | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Little Giant Comes to Harlem

Yesterday I uplifted my sister, Jeanette, on International Women’s Day during this Women’s History Month.  Today I uplift three women I work with. More than 15 years ago I met Dawn Ravella.  She was doing amazing social justice work at … Continue reading

Posted in crime, ezwwaters, Justice Chronicles, race, Reentry, Religion, remorse, Shawshank Redemption, Streets of Rage, urban decay, Urban Impact | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Triumphing Through Levels of Grief

Today is International Women’s Day.  During Black History Month and these first couple of days in Women’s History Month, I have uplifted women, mostly women authors.  Today, though, I want to uplift a woman near and dear to my heart, … Continue reading

Posted in being a teenager, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, ezwwaters, Family, Fatherhood, Fathers, Growing Up, juveniles, Lest We Forget, Mother's Messages, raising black boys, Relationships, Religion, Urban Impact | Tagged | Leave a comment

The “new” Jim Crow is as old as the Union

Ever have a “Eureka!” moment?  During my legal research in the early 1980’s, I came across something that, beyond a reasonable doubt, confirmed what people had been talking about without much evidence, beyond the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, … Continue reading

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A Statue for the Unknown Slave Woman?

Today, in honor of Women’s History Month, I’m going to do something slightly different: honor an unknown woman — in fact, unknown women — by sharing a poem from my third collection of poetry, The Black Feminine Mystique. It is … Continue reading

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