The next decade....what's in store?
Musings of a yamfooted traveller still trying to shake off those last 20 pounds as she treks across the Caribbean
While in St Kitts, one of my Kittitian colleagues and I got talking. Eventually, he brought a book called 'The Shower Posse' for me to read, based on our conversation.
Took it on the island hop trip with me to the Spice Isle and Bimshire and read it from cover to cover. Now I had heard about Vivian Blake, but didn't pay his situation too much mind at the time. After reading the book, I know his story intimately, and it has opened my eyes to another side of Jamaica that I, and probably many of you reading this, don't know.
Vivian Blake was from Tivoli Gardens, grew with his Granny (so treated ladies well), went to St George's College (di Bull and di docta and di scratcher's alma mater), played football, went to New York as part of a football team....and never returned...well not when he was supposed to.
He met up with some people, started selling marijuana in 'nickle & dime' apartments in New York, and it grew into a very profitable business. Eventually he got into cocaine. Eventually he owned a house in Long Island with a pool and all. He bought his Granny a house on Grosvenor Terrace (upscale neighbourhood in St Andrew), maintained his link with Tivoli Gardens, got two of his brothers up to the States (illegally of course).
It is one of the brothers, according to the book, who was REALLY the leader of the Shower Posse, not Vivian. The book describes many killings, but not involving Vivian.
The book also describes a man called 'Little Nut', who was born Cecil Connor in St Kitts, lived in Jamaica for a while, moved to the states, linked up with Vivian, killed people in cold blood, turned state witness in those murder trials and testified against Vivian and the Shower Posse, went back to St Kitts where he started up a drug business which was said to have bought people in all spheres of society, and was eventually extradited to the USA to stand trial for murder etc.
Vivian came back to Jamaica because he heard the Feds were hot on his heals, set up base in Ocho Rios, started some legitimate businesses, came to Kingston, opened the Cactus Nightclub in Portmore before he sold it to the people who own Quad and Asylum, and then was locked up to await extradition to the USA.
He lost his appeal, and was extradited in 2000. He plead guilty to drug stuff, the murder charges were not brought, and he got 28 years.
The book describes him checking in to the hotel I used to work at. When I was working there, there were indeed some 'drug looking' people who used to check in there from time to time. The book describes how cash was passed in hotel rooms here and in the USA, how airport workers helped suitcases of marijuana to arrive in the USA safely, and several other things which just had my jaw dropping.
This is my Jamaica. The Vivian Blakes of this world are a part of my Jamaica.
Oh, the name Shower Posse came about because the gang would 'shower' gatherings with bullets as they were leaving and chant 'shower, shower'.
The book was written by Blake's son Duane who is a Howard University graduate. If you are interested in more, do a Google Search for Vivian Blake, or Charles Miller which was the name that Cecil Connor resurfaced with in St Kitts.
Posted by yamfoot at December 19, 2004 10:20 PMShowers Posse. Bwoy I haven't heard that name in such a long time. Everything has its time I guess. These days it's One Order.
St.G.C. taught you that whatever you do, do it well. Thankfully, Dr.D., MB and myself among many others learnt to be the best of the best and not the best of the worst.
Ah heard about that book before, but was told that "it lacked literary quality" to put it mildly. Ah guess, after your review, I'm curious about it again.
Posted by: Mel Da Piggy at December 20, 2004 03:46 PMMuy interesante!
First I must reiterate Scratchie's statement. Just like I told a woman in Aruba who was shocked to learn that Diana (mi Dermi. sistren) and myself were from yard (we were too well spoken apparently to be Jamaican)...."There are Jamaicans, and there are Jamaicans."
Well, similarly there are Georgians and there are Georgians. A nuh everybody from the blue and white crew that feature in books like these...Thank God. Some of us choose to lead more straight laced (boring) lives :-)
Nevertheless, I learned quite a bit from your precis of the book (especially the derivation of the name 'Shower') and may well give it a read myself one o dem days.
Is Blake still doing time?
Posted by: Dr. D. at December 20, 2004 07:25 PMPiggy, no, it's not a Shakespeare, but it's very informative and lets you see how those people think. Blake had many women while he was married (what's new)
Posted by: Michelle at December 20, 2004 11:06 PMWell, I knew that such things went on, but not so much of the details as regards Blake. Interesting post.
havent read that one yet but I read Born Fi Dead by Laurie Gunz a few years back. Them fellas din easy atall. I think I heard that one was banned in jamaica.
Posted by: jdid at December 21, 2004 11:56 PMI read the book and it is very informative and shocking. I met some of the characters back in the mid to late 70's, but had no idea how ruthless they were. They seemed almost polite back then when I would run into them wearing beaver hats at house parties in the Bronx. The real story here is that Jamaican posse members were cultivated, nurtured, and protected by Jamaican politicians. Jamaican political gangsters, aka "area leaders", "community leaders", and "supporters" were controlled by Jamaican politicians. The "criminals" served their political bosses until they got too big for their britches and turned the tables on the politicians and started ordering them around! Money talks! LOUDLY, and once the "bad" guys got more money than their parliamentarian bosses, the real power was transferred to them. The MP's
are mere figure heads. The "dons" and their crews are the real government behind the government! Skeptical? Then all you have to do is trace back to the begining of Jamaica's decline to the present and you will see that Jamaica's downward spiral began c.1980 when the "posses" started getting rich. Want to see Jamaica cleaned up? Just let anything shocking happen to the right English man or woman there. Queen Elizabeth II, Jamaica's head of state (that's right) would drop her forces on the island like a blanket from heaven, and after that tumultus storm, there would be tranquility as never seen before.