Tag Archives: Strange Fruit

Rereading Richard Wright’s Black Boy

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

When I first read Richard Wright’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, crime, Family, Fatherhood, Fathers, Growing Up, raising black boys, Relationships, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Black Fruit, Strange Fruit

Posted on February 6, 2024 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

My first book, the award-winning epic poem, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass: Remembrance of Things Past and Present, deals with the theme(s) of “the captivity, exploitation and suffering of Black people in America.”  But not all of … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, crime, ezwwaters, Lest We Forget, Murder | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

From The Miseducation of the Negro to Critical Race Theory

Posted on February 2, 2024 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Carter G. Woodson, “the father of Black History,” wrote The Miseducation of the Negro in 1926. Woodson earned his PhD from Harvard University, and during his academic career served as the Dean of Howard University, an historically Black research university, established … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, ezwwaters, Lest We Forget, race, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

On this day in American history, August 7, 1930– Mob of 10,000 Lynches Two Black Men in Marion, Indiana

Posted on August 7, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On August 7, 1930, a white mob lynched Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Marion, Indiana. The two young black men, 18 and 19 years old respectively, had been arrested that afternoon. They were accused of attacking a young white … Continue reading →

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This day in history — March 30, 2018 — No Bloody Friday!

Posted on March 30, 2018 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On this day in history, the Equal Racial Justice Initiative’s A History of Racial Injustice – 2018 Calendar, does not report an incident….  I wonder if racist whites ceased their Reign of Terror against Black people because it was Good Friday?  … Continue reading →

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VERY STRANGE FRUIT

Posted on December 16, 2014 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

Have you ever really listened to the haunting lyrics of “Strange Fruit,” sung by Billie Holliday, who “had the kind of voice you never forget,” as Bret Primack wrote in Jazz Times?: Southern trees bear strange fruit, Blood on the … Continue reading →

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