Category Archives: police-involved killing

Poetry Matters

Posted on April 1, 2024 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

April is National Poetry Month. It was launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996. It is a month to celebrate poets’ integral role in our culture. #poetrymatters. This National Poetry Month, read one of my books of … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, ezwwaters, NYPD, Poetry, police involved shooting, police-involved killing, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

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 , , , | Leave a comment

A Bibliography of Police Misconduct for Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats

Posted on June 18, 2020 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

As I have indicated elsewhere, when working on my collection of poetry about police misconduct, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, I drew on news reports and headlines. While doing a little Spring cleaning, I came across the original manuscript … Continue reading →

Posted in Amadou Diallo, being a teenager, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, crime, Justice Chronicles, juveniles, Lest We Forget, Murder, NYPD, Poetry, police involved shooting, police-involved killing, Politics, race, raising black boys, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, Streets of Rage, Urban Impact | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Slaughter of the Innocents

Posted on June 18, 2020 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

In the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, I have been rereading some of my poems in my collection about police misconduct, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats. I am even more disturbed now than when in 1995 I … Continue reading →

Posted in being a teenager, crime, Growing Up, Justice Chronicles, juveniles, Lest We Forget, Murder, NYPD, police involved shooting, police-involved killing, race, raising black boys, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, Streets of Rage | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Blue Knight Riders

Posted on June 15, 2020 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Despite national and even global protests on police misconduct and killings of unarmed Black men, another Black male, Rayshard Brooks, is shot twice in the back by a white police officer in Atlanta, Georgia for what amounts to sleeping while … Continue reading →

Posted in police involved shooting, police-involved killing, race, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, Streets of Rage | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Black Blood of Poetry

Posted on June 12, 2020 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

I am working on my fourth collection of poetry, entitled “The Black Blood of Poetry.” I first came across that phrase in the works of an Eastern European poet, whom I can’t remember, but I remember the phrase because it … Continue reading →

Posted in Lest We Forget, police involved shooting, police-involved killing, race, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, Streets of Rage, Urban Impact | 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

Prison Walls v. Love — Review of “Memoirs of a Prison Lawyer/Prison Wife,” by Claudette Spencer-Nurse

Posted on June 25, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Memoirs of a Prison Lawyer/Prison Wife, by Claudette Spencer-Nurse, is a love story.  It is an improbable love story.  It is a love story that has defied the odds.  It is a love story for the ages.  It is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Amadou Diallo, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, crime, Family, Justice Chronicles, Life Sentences, Parole, parole board, police involved shooting, police-involved killing, race, Reentry, Relationships, remorse | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bill Cosby v. Jeronimo Yanez

Posted on June 23, 2017 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On its face, there doesn’t appear to be any connection between the bill Cosby sexual assault case and that of former Minnesota police officer Jeronimo Yanez, who shot and killed Philando Castile on July 6, 2016; but if we look … Continue reading →

Posted in crime, Justice Chronicles, police involved shooting, police-involved killing | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment