Tag Archives: MLK

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

The Assassination of Dr. King – My first “political memory”

Posted on April 4, 2024 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

My first political memory, at age 7, is the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  I was too young to remember the assassinations of JFK and Malcolm X, and although RFK would be assassinated later in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, crime, ezwwaters, Growing Up, John F. Kennedy, Lest We Forget, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Murder, Poetry, Politics, race, raising black boys, Revolution, Sometimes Blue Knights Wear Black Hats, urban decay, Urban Impact | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Black Arts Movement

Posted on February 8, 2024 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

The theme for this Black History Month is African Americans and the Arts.  For purposes of this blog, I’ll highlight the “Black Arts Era” (1960-1975).  The Black Arts Era began at the very beginning of what Samuel F. Yette, influential … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Education, ezwwaters, John F. Kennedy, Lest We Forget, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Murder, Nation of Islam, Politics, race | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Happy Birthday to Black History Month!

Posted on February 7, 2024 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Black History Month is nearly 100 years old!  Granted, it began as Black History Week, on February 7, 1926, and didn’t become Black History Month until February 10, 1976.  My father, a Native Southern Son, was born in the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Black patriotism, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Education, ezwwaters, Fatherhood, Fathers, Growing Up, Lest We Forget, Patriotism, Politics, race, raising black boys, Revolution | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Pledge of Allegiance, Little White Lies, and All that Jazz!

Posted on March 7, 2023 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

It has been more than 50 years since I was in elementary school in the New York City public school system, yet I remember, word for word, the “Pledge of Allegiance.”  At this time, I thought nothing of it, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, crime, Growing Up, John F. Kennedy, Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Patriotism, Politics, raising black boys, Revolution, Slavery, Streets of Rage, urban decay, Urban Impact | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Me and Malcolm X’s Murderer

Posted on February 21, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On this day in American history, Malcolm X was murdered.  I was four years of age.  Fourteen years later, I would meet Malcolm X’s killer.  The first thought that crossed my mind: He, Thomas Hagan, is unremarkable.  And then: What … Continue reading →

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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

The King is Dead!

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

The King is dead! I was 7 years young when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Growing up in the ‘60s, what one historian called the Decisive Decade, there was death all around. At 7, I didn’t understand the impact … 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