Category Archives: Lest We Forget

One Hundred Years of Black History

Posted on February 16, 2026 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

My father was born the same month Negro History Week was announced, timed to Lincoln’s February 12 and Douglass’s February 14 birthdays. Nearing his centennial, he embodied Black history: North Carolina segregation, a segregated WWII Army, then migration to New York. He rarely spoke of it, but history and literature helped me understand. Continue reading →

Posted in Black History Month, Black patriotism, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, ezwwaters, Family, Fatherhood, Fathers, Growing Up, Lest We Forget, Martin Luther King, race, raising black boys, Segregation, The Black Blood of Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Blood at the Root: Then and Now

Posted on February 5, 2026 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

My first book, the award-winning epic poem, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass: Remembrance of Things Past and Present, deals with the theme(s) of “the captivity, exploitation and suffering of Black people in America.”  But not all of … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, crime, ezwwaters, Lest We Forget, Murder | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Revisiting _The Miseducation of the Negro_ This Black History Month

Posted on February 3, 2026 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Carter G. Woodson’s seminal book, The Miseducation of the Negro, published in 1926, is a book Black folk should periodically revisit, perhaps every three years, ideally every year.  If you are Black and you have not read the book, then … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Education, ezwwaters, Lest We Forget, Politics, race, raising black boys, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Daddy Dearest

Posted on February 2, 2026 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

My father, a Native Southern Son, was born in the same month and year Negro History Week was established. Then, we were Negroes. Thirty-four years later, when I was born, we were still Negroes. When my father died at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, ezwwaters, Family, Fatherhood, Fathers, Lest We Forget, race, raising black boys, Relationships, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Black History Month: Celebrating a Legacy of Resilience

Posted on February 1, 2026 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Uplifting my Black History Series Blog. This year is 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Teaching” Alice Walker

Posted on September 17, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In preparation for a lecture in the course I teach, African American Literature in the 20th Century, I am re-reading excerpts from Alice Walker’s In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose. In her prose, Walker makes nearly perfect sense. … Continue reading →

Posted in crime, ezwwaters, Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget, Politics, race, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, Streets of Rage | 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

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

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