“It’s our history and we don’t know it!” Kamau McBarnette visits AHS

On the 30th of September 2014, Mr.Kamau McBarnette, a man who was heavily involved in the 1979 – 1983 Revolution period and a recently published author,  came to the Anglican High School.  His visit was the first in a series of visits organized by the Anglican High School’s Creative Writing Club. October is generally a month of reflection in Grenada so Mr. McBarnette’s visit gave the Creative Writing Club a chance to learn about both history and literature from a person who is a bit of an expert in both.

Mr. McBarnette was one of the 17 persons who were placed in prison at the end of the revolution in 1983. He remained in prison for 25 years before being released in 2008. Since then he has published his first novel, “My Mother and I” the epic history of Grenada.

”I’ve come across many people both young and old talking about history and how boring it is. That’s one of my many reasons for writing the book. To make them see another side to history, a fun one and an enjoyable one. One that will make them want to continue reading and learning about our history.” K.McBarnette

His visit was generally to inform us on how we could tie in literature with other things to make it come alive and make it interesting like he did with his book. As a former teacher, he was very knowledgeable and very open about his life before during and after the revolution. The conversation was fascinating but as I left the room I was somewhat dejected. After all it is our history and we as Grenadians know little  to nothing about it and even then, the little that is known is not passed on to our generation. The adults just keep it to themselves and make us less acquainted with our history. This is unacceptable.

As Grenadians living in Grenada we should know about the many triumphs and tribulations that we as a people encountered and what it took to get us where we are and make us who we are today. Mr. McBarnette’s visit impacted me personally because only then did I come to the realization that for all my many years living in Grenada, sixteen is a lot for a teenager,  I know close to nothing about our history. I was born here, both my parents are Grenadian and I feel bad because I can’t relate to any of the events that my country has survived. This visit has given us a lot to think during this month of reflection.