Checking Out Me History
John Agard
Dem tell me
Dem tell me
Wha dem want to tell me
Bandage up me eye with me own history
Blind me to me own identity…
(Full poem unable to be reproduced due to copyright restrictions)
VOCABULARY
To check out - to investigate
With vision - this phrase has a double meaning, it can mean physically being able to
see, but more likely Agard intends to use it metaphorically - in this sense, it means
having the insight that others do not, or having a clear sense of purpose and drive
to progress.
Black Republican - a ‘Republican’ is a member of a Republican political party, in this
case, the one which was in power in Haiti (St Domingue) at the time that Toussaint
L’Overture rose to power. Agard says that he was the first Black Republican because
he was the first black member of this political party, demonstrating his intelligence
and political skills.
Thorn - a sharp spike, such as those on a rose bush. Agard may be thinking of the
phrase ‘thorn in the side’ when he describes Toussaint as a thorn to the French,
meaning that he was a constant cause of pain and discomfort
Beacon - a shining light, often used metaphorically to describe light of hope
Zulu - African tribal culture and language
Caribs - American Indian people who originated from South America and later
inhabited the Lesser Antilles - islands in the Caribbean Sea which were later taken
over by the Spanish, French, Dutch and British.
Arawaks - another group of indigenous people who inhabited the Greater and
Lesser Antilles, they are now viewed to be extinct and most Arawakan languages are
no longer spoken.
, Guyanese Dialect:
Me - My
Dem - Them / They
Bout - About
Dat - That
He cat - His cat
De - The
She lamp - Her lamp
STORY/SUMMARY
(Stanza 1) They tell me, they tell me what they want to tell me, bandage up my eye
with my own history and blind me to my own identity, they tell me about 1066 and
all that, they tell me about Dick Whittington and his cat, but Toussaint L’Ouverture,
no they never tell me about that.
(Stanza 2) Toussaint, a slave with vision licked back Napoleon’s battalion and he was
the first Black Republican when he was born, the French called him Toussaint the
thorn, he was Toussaint the beacon of the Haitian Revolution.
(Stanza 3) They tell me about the man who discovered the balloon and the cow who
jumped over the moon, they tell me about the dish that ran away with the spoon,
but they never tell me about Nanny de maroon.
(Stanza 4) Nanny was a far-seeing (visionary) woman with a mountain dream, a
woman of fire who struggled in a hopeful stream towards the river of freedom.
(Stanza 5) They tell me about Lord Nelson and Waterloo, but they never tell me
about Shaka the great Zulu, they tell me about Columbus and 1492, but what
happened to the Caribs and Arawaks too?
(Stanza 6) They tell me about Florence Nightingale and her lamp, and how Robin
Hood used to camp, they tell me about old King Cole who was a merry old soul, but
they never tell me about Mary Seacole.
(Stanza 7) From Jamaica she (Mary Seacole) traveled far to the Crimean War, she
volunteered to go, and even the British said no, but still she braved the Russian
snow, a healing star among the wounded, a yellow sunrise to the dying soldiers.
(Stanza 8) They tell me what they want to tell me, but now I am checking out my
own history, I am carving out my own identity.
