Category Archives: Justice Chronicles

Writings about crime and punishment, and more punishment.

Advancing Alice Walker — and Her Nonfiction

Posted on April 11, 2024 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

I have a love-hate relationship with the body of work of Alice Walker. I love Walker’s nonfiction, and even some of her autobiographical sketches, where her prose, even when it is expressing anger, is righteous anger. Her nonfiction is clear, … Continue reading →

Posted in ezwwaters, Fatherhood, Fathers, race, raising black boys, Reentry, Relationships, Short Stories | Tagged ALice Childress, Alice Walker, Anne Petry, Audre Lorde, Bebe Moore Campbell, Brothers and Sisters, Brown Girl Brownstone, Dorothy West, Edwidge Danticat, Gloria Naylor, Gwendolyn Brooks, Ida B. Wells, In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose, Jamaica Kincaid, Jazz, Jub liee, Jubilee, June Jordan, Kindred, Lorraine Hansberry, Margaret Walker, Maya Angelou, Meridian, Nikki Giovanni, Ntozake Shange, Octavia Butler, Paule Marshall, protest novel, Rita Dove, Sonia Sanchez, Suzan-Lori Parks, The Color Purple, The Third Life of Grange Copeland, The Women of Brewster Bplace, Toni Morrison, Topdog/Underdog, Wild Seed | Leave a comment

Aunt Jemima and Uncle Tom Redux

Posted on May 2, 2023 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In “Many Thousands Gone,” one of James Baldwin’s essays in Notes of a Native Son, Baldwin writes about white America’s favorite aunt and uncle, Jemima and Tom: “There was no one more forbearing than Aunt Jemima, no one stronger or … Continue reading →

Posted in James Baldwin, Justice Chronicles, Politics, race | Tagged Anita Hill, Aunt Jemima, Candace Owens, Clarence Thomas, James Baldwin , Loving v. Virginia, Many Thousands Gone, Notes of a Native Son, Uncle Tom | Leave a comment

The Pledge of Allegiance, Little White Lies, and All that Jazz!

Posted on March 7, 2023 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

It has been more than 50 years since I was in elementary school in the New York City public school system, yet I remember, word for word, the “Pledge of Allegiance.” At this time, I thought nothing of it, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, crime, Growing Up, John F. Kennedy, Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Patriotism, Politics, raising black boys, Revolution, Slavery, Streets of Rage, urban decay, Urban Impact | Tagged Atomic Bomb, Black Codes, Black Power, Camelot, Confederate States of America, Critical Race Theory, Culture Wars, Great Society, Hiroshima, internment of Japanese Americans, James Brown, JFK, LBJ, Little White Lies, MLK, Nagasaki, Pledge of Allegiance, RFK, richard nixon, Segregation, Slave Codes, Slavery, Thirteenth Amendment, war on crime, World War II | Leave a comment

A Constantly Evolving Lifespan: A Review of “This Life” by Quntos KunQuest

Posted on February 8, 2023 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

A life sentence in prison is life, that is, there is living to do in prison, even under a life sentence. Quntos KunQuest, in his novel, This Life, demonstrates that life goes on inside of prison. Since 1996, KunQuest has … Continue reading →

Posted in crime, Education, Growing Up, Justice Chronicles, Life Sentences, race, raising black boys | Tagged Alexandre Dumas, American Studies Association, Angola State Penitentiary, Bell Gale Chevigny, Doing Time: 25 Years of Prison Writing, Edmond Dantes, In the Belly of the Beast, Jack Henry Abbott, Jailhouse Journalism: The Fourth Estate Behind Bars, Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Normal Mailer, PEN America, PEN International, Prison Writing Program (PWP), Quntos KunQuest, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Executioner's Song, This Life | 4 Comments

Treatment Not Jail – “Fostering Benevolence”

Posted on January 19, 2023 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In October of last year, I had the honor of appearing on a Podcast, Treatment Not Jail, to talk about this issue as well as others connected to the criminal legal system. Please check it out!

Posted in crime, ezwwaters, Justice Chronicles, raising black boys, Urban Impact | Tagged Mark Graham, The Redemption Center, Treatment Not Jail | Leave a comment

“The Jailhouse Lawyer,” by James Patterson and Nancy Allen

Posted on October 10, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

As I was working on my collection of short stories, “One Day in the Life of a Jailhouse Lawyer,” I got a notification that James Patterson, along with Nancy Allen, had released a novel, The Jailhouse Lawyer. Patterson is a … Continue reading →

Posted in crime, ezwwaters, Justice Chronicles | Tagged Erva Alabama, James Patterson, Nancy Green, One Day in the Life of a Jailhouse Lawyer, The Jailhouse Lawyer by James Patterson | 5 Comments

National Poetry Month

Posted on April 3, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

April is National Poetry Month. Purchase and read one of my three books of poetry. My first, award-winning book, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass: Co-winner of the Edwin Mellen Poetry Prize . . . this poem is … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, crime, ezwwaters, Justice Chronicles, Mother's Messages, Murder, NYPD, Poetry, police involved shooting, police-involved killing, Politics, race, raising black boys, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats | Tagged Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, National Poetry Month, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, The Black Feminine Mystique | Leave a comment

Vision: To See What Others Can’t

Posted on March 29, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In my work in the last twenty years in the nonprofit arena, I have met and collaborated with dynamic women leaders. They all had different skill sets and strengths. Some were fabulous fundraisers, others were powerful public speakers, and yet … Continue reading →

Posted in ezwwaters, Justice Chronicles | Tagged Christine McMahon, Fedcap Canada, Fedcap U.K., The Fedcap Group | Leave a comment

The Amazing Grace of The Most Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson

Posted on March 27, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Two months ago I didn’t know who Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was. Today, the whole world should know her. The whole world should be in awe of her amazing grace in the face of an unprecedented attack on a U.S. … Continue reading →

Posted in ezwwaters, Justice Chronicles, Patriotism, Politics, race | Tagged Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson | Leave a comment

“Life Sentence”

Posted on March 26, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In my post, “The Anatomy of Advocacy – In High Heels,” I mentioned how the successful advocacy of the Ad Hoc Committee on Lifetime Parole was a much longer, untold story. This is another part of the story. In addition … Continue reading →

Posted in being a teenager, crime, ezwwaters, Justice Chronicles, juveniles, Lest We Forget, Life Sentences, Murder, Parole, parole board, Politics, race, raising black boys, Reentry, remorse, Streets of Rage, urban decay, Urban Impact | Tagged Ad Hoc Committee on Lifetime Parole, CUNY Graduate Center, Executive Law 259-j, Jenna's Law, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York State Board of Parole, Pataki Rule, The Anatomy of Advocacy -- In High Heels | Leave a comment

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