Tag Archives: Virginia

Exploring Book Bans: The Impact on Black Literature

Posted on February 3, 2025 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On a recent summer trip to Virgina, where one could argue that it all began in 1619, that is, the enslavement of Africans in what would become the United States of America, I stopped at a Barnes & Noble.  During … Continue reading →

Posted in Black History Month, Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, ezwwaters, Lest We Forget, Martin Luther King, Politics, race, Religion, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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

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

Virginia on My Mind

Posted on August 19, 2023 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

There is something that keeps drawing me back to Virginia.  Although my father was born in North Carolina, he grew up in Virginia and returned there in 1946 after he was discharged from the segregated U.S. Army.  He was drafted … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, ezwwaters, Family, Fatherhood, Fathers, Genealogy, Growing Up, race, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dear Daddy: A Love Letter to Your Beloved South

Posted on July 15, 2020 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

July 15, 2020 Dear Daddy, Last night I dreamt of you for the first time since your death. I woke up with tears in my eyes. Although you have been dead for a little more than 38 years, in the … Continue reading →

Posted in being a teenager, Education, Family, Fatherhood, Fathers, Growing Up, Lest We Forget | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

On this Day in American History — June 24, 2015, Confederate Flag Flies at Alabama Capitol until this day in 2015; Monuments Remain (From the Equal Justice Initiative 2020 Calendar)

Posted on June 24, 2020 by William Eric Waters, aka Easy Waters

On June 24, 2015, Alabama officials removed a Confederate flag flying on the grounds of the state capitol in Montgomery. The move came in response to national scrutiny of Confederate symbols on public property, triggered by a tragic shooting at … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Shadows and Through the White Looking Glass, Justice Chronicles, Politics, race, Slavery | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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