Checking Out Me History

Purpose:

Checking Out Me History:

• British/French imperialism = corrupt

• Education: celebrates

• Oppressed: can resist tyranny

• Lone voice = political change (protest poem)

• Explores immigrant experiences & asks for greater acceptance

*London:

• S: Societal problems = those in power (church, king, parliament & men in patriarchy) = damaging lives

• S: Exploitation of children = damaging

The Emigrée:

• S: Difficulties of migrants fleeing corruption (both in the corrupt country and the country they migrate to)

• S: Lone voice = political change (protest poem)

• S: Memory = precious (even if inaccurate)

• S: Oppressed: can resist tyranny

Form:

• Uses repetition (anaphora) to set a protest tone.

• Written in free verse with a structured couplet ending.

• Employs dialect and rhythmic language for cultural authenticity.

• Shifts from imposed historical narratives to personal identity.

"Dem tell me / Dem tell me / Wha dem want to tell me"

• Repeats phrases to emphasize dominant, imposed history.

• Uses anaphora for a rhythmic, insistent protest.

• Highlights the conflict between external narratives and self-voice.

• Challenges the reader to question commonly accepted history.

"Bandage up me eye with me own history"

• Metaphor for having one’s view obscured by skewed history.

• Implies personal identity is affected by selective storytelling.

• Uses vivid imagery to represent cultural suppression.

• Critiques the way history is taught and controlled.

"Toussaint / A slave / With vision / Lick back / Napoleon"

• Contrasts the power of a slave with famed European figures.

• Elevates Toussaint as a visionary, revolutionary leader.

• Challenges traditional hierarchies through stark, simple language.

• Emphasizes reclaiming historical agency and dignity.

"Dem tell me bout Columbus and 1492 / But what happen to de Caribs and de Arawaks too"

• Critiques the single story of Eurocentric history.

• Raises awareness about erased indigenous peoples.

• Questions the fairness and completeness of school-taught history.

• Invites a broader, more inclusive look at historical truth.

"But now I checking out me own history / I carving out me identity"

• Marks a shift from accepting imposed views to self-discovery.

• Emphasizes active, personal reclaiming of history.

• Uses imagery of sculpting to show identity formation.

• Conveys empowerment through forging one’s own narrative.