Category Archives: Martin Luther King

“Final” Touches on The Black Blood of Poetry

Posted on August 19, 2020 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Early this morning I put the “final” touches on my title poem, “The Black Blood of Poetry.” I wasn’t going to post it, but it is timely, and I’d rather not wait until the collection is published to put this … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, crime, James Baldwin, Lest We Forget, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Murder, Nation of Islam, Poetry, Politics, race, raising black boys, Revolution, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, Sonny's Blues, Streets of Rage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

ABRACADABRA! Or Notes on the War on Crime, Redux

Posted on June 11, 2020 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In 1989 I wrote an award-winning essay, “ABRACADABRA! Or Notes on the War on Crime.” In it I mentioned those magic words crimefighting politicians would utter as the solution to the “crime problem”: “more police, more prisons, longer prison terms.” … Continue reading →

Posted in crime, Justice Chronicles, Martin Luther King, police-involved killing, Politics, race, raising black boys, Streets of Rage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Fires This Time

Posted on June 5, 2020 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Last year, 2019, we marked 400 years since Africans were brought to Virginia and America’s “peculiar institution” took root. Since then, in the annals of American history, there has been systematic oppression and brutality against the descendants of Africans in … Continue reading →

Posted in being a teenager, Black patriotism, James Baldwin, Justice Chronicles, juveniles, Lest We Forget, Martin Luther King, police involved shooting, police-involved killing, Politics, race, raising black boys, Relationships, Revolution, Slavery, Streets of Rage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Reading About Dreaming on the #2 Train

Posted on April 19, 2017 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

I am on a #2 train, heading uptown.  The train is delayed in the station.  An announcement: “A train in front of this one is having problems closing its doors.”  So we wait.  Recently, there was a fare hike.  It … Continue reading →

Posted in Martin Luther King, raising black boys, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

If I Were President

Posted on November 19, 2016 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

My first political lesson came, about fifty years ago, via television.  As any other kid during that time, the Decisive Decade (the 1960s), while political assassinations, JFK, Malcolm X, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., RFK, and a host of … Continue reading →

Posted in ezwwaters, John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Patriotism, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Massacre at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church: A Year Later — Lest We Forget!

Posted on June 22, 2016 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Recently I read a piece in the AARP Bulletin, the June 2016 issue, on the Charleston Massacre: A Year Later, “The Long Road to Forgiveness.” As a student of history, I almost always think that we don’t remember what we … Continue reading →

Posted in crime, ezwwaters, Martin Luther King, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

PROSECUTORS, POLICE-INVOLVED SHOOTINGS, THE CONSTITUTION, THE KKK, POSSES, AND THE RULE OF LAW

Posted on December 11, 2014 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

I’ve been thinking about when state prosecutors fail to do their jobs in police-involved killings of unarmed individuals, that is, fail to get indictments – though we all know, those of us who have studied the criminal criminal justice system, … Continue reading →

Posted in crime, Justice Chronicles, Martin Luther King, Michael Brown, MIssouri, Murder, NYPD, police involved shooting, police-involved killing, Politics, Slavery, Uncategorized, Urban Impact | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Two Classic Speeches on Voting

Posted on October 31, 2014 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

With Election Day right around the corner, now is a good time to read or re-read two pieces, Frederick Douglass’ “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro,” given on July 5, 1852, and Malcolm X’s “The Ballot or the … Continue reading →

Posted in Black patriotism, Education, John F. Kennedy, Justice Chronicles, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Patriotism, Politics, Revolution | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Black Blood of Poetry

Posted on February 9, 2014 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

The King was dead You joined the adults Cried your eyes out Didn’t know exactly why Only that something catastrophic had happened Something that’d set your people back fifty years You couldn’t even go out to play Maybe not for … Continue reading →

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Even a Black Poet is Considered Armed and Extremely Dangerous

Posted on January 20, 2014 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

(For Henry Dumas) It was a time when a president, a presidential candidate, a Prince of Peace, a Black knight in shining armor, and Black Panthers, were gunned down. Assassinations with political ramifications. But who’d think that a poet would … Continue reading →

Posted in Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Murder, Poetry, Politics, Revolution, Uncategorized, Urban Impact | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment