Tag Archives: Richard Wright

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, Family, Fatherhood, Fathers, Lest We Forget, raising black boys, Relationships, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rereading Richard Wright’s Black Boy

Posted on July 12, 2024 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

When I first read Richard Wrightโ€™s Black Boy more than 40 years ago when I was a teenager, little that I knew about literature,  I thought the writing was superb.  I was doing a little writing then and thought Wright … Continue reading →

Posted in being a teenager, Black patriotism, Family, Fatherhood, Fathers, Growing Up, Literature & Cultural Criticism, raising black boys, Relationships, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 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, Family, Fatherhood, Fathers, Lest We Forget, raising black boys, Relationships, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

I Wanna Go to Bailey’s Cafe

Posted on February 26, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Gloria Naylor is another Scheherazade.  She was a consummate storyteller, wrote beautifully, created engaging stories and characters we could judge if so inclined by the content of their character, not their race.  Unlike Alice Walker, Naylorโ€™s male characters have more … Continue reading →

Posted in Lest We Forget, Relationships | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Son of a Native Southern Son

Posted on February 23, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On this day in American history, in 1982, my father passed away, at the age of 56, a week and a day after he reached that age.  I always think of my father as a Native Southern Son.  When I … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Fathers, James Baldwin, Lest We Forget, raising black boys, Sonny's Blues | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

A Bigger By Any Other Name

Posted on February 22, 2022 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Bigger Thomas, although a fictional character, haunts the imagination of white folk.  Richard Wrightโ€™s Native Son, where we meet Bigger Thomas, was published in 1940.  Benjamin Mays, in eulogizing the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 28 years later after … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, James Baldwin, Justice Chronicles, Lest We Forget, Literature & Cultural Criticism, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Murder, raising black boys, Streets of Rage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment