Tag Archives: Fourth of July

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

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

Daddy Dearest

Posted on February 22, 2024 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Reflections on Black Patriotism

Posted on July 12, 2013 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

I remember, in the summer of my life, when my blood boiled, as hot as the sun, with righteous indignation at American injustice. This, from a native son, a born and bred Brooklynite. I remember, in my youth, questioning Black … Continue reading →

Posted in Black patriotism, Justice Chronicles, Patriotism, Revolution, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Statue for the Unknown Slave Woman?

Posted on July 5, 2013 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

I was watching the news, and saw people at the Statue of Liberty, which was reopened today, the Fourth of July. Many people commented on this statue as a symbol of freedom. And it made me think of that other … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Slavery, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment