Tag Archives: Martin Luther King Jr.

On this day in American history, August 25, 1956 — Montgomery, Alabama, Home of Bus Boycott Supporter Bombed

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

On the night of April 25, 1956, several sticks of dynamite were thrown into the yard of Pastor Robert Graetz’s Montgomery, Alabama, home where they exploded, breaking the home’s front windows and damaging the front door. A young white minister … Continue reading →

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On this day in history, May 21, 1961 — National Guard Disperses White Crowd Threatening Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Alabama

Posted on May 21, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

The Freedom Riders were an interracial group of civil rights activists who began riding interstate buses in 1961 to test Supreme Court decisions that prohibited discrimination in interstate passenger travel. Their efforts were unpopular with whites who supported continued segregation. … Continue reading →

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This day in history — April 6, 1958 — Execution of Wrongfully Convicted Black Teen Jeremiah Reeves Sparks Protest in Montgomery

Posted on April 6, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On November 10, 1952, Jeremiah Reeves, a 16-year-old black high school student and jazz drummer, was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, and interrogated about the rape of Mabel Ann Crowder the previous July. Ms. Crowder, a white woman, had claimed rape … Continue reading →

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This day in history — April 4, 1968 — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassinated

Posted on April 4, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Thirteen hundred African American sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, went on strike on February 12, 1968, to protest low pay and poor treatment. When city leaders largely ignored the strike and refused to negotiate, the workers sought assistance from civil … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

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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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