Business leaders fear King vote fallout

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"People and businesses don't want to be part of conflict, prejudice, disagreement, festering sores," said Hayne Hipp, chairman and chief executive officer of Greenville-based Liberty Corp. "There is nothing positive that comes out of it."

The council's position, coupled with the county's anti-gay resolution of six years ago, will be viewed by some as a "confirmation of some of the prejudices that still exist" in the county, Hipp said.

A resolution honoring the slain civil rights leader failed to move out of a Greenville County Council committee Tuesday, even after an impassioned plea from the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a Greenville native who worked with King. He and other black leaders vowed to continue the fight.

Council Chairwoman Phyllis Henderson said businesses, not county government, should take the first step. She said few, if any, Greenville County businesses give employees King's birthday off as a holiday.

"If it's such an important issue in respect to African-American individuals, if you will, why aren't businesses doing it?" she asked.

BMW has observed King's birthday as a paid holiday since "day one" to honor his contributions, said spokeswoman Bunny Richardson.

Brian Lazarus, a Greenville construction executive who is originally from Miami, called the council's stand "counterproductive" and compared the issue to that of the Confederate flag, which was removed from the Statehouse dome in 2000 after years of dispute and an economic boycott of the state by the NAACP.

"It's like the flag issue. It compounds the thing," he said. "I just think it's a non-progressive stance."

Leighton Cubbage, president of Ionosphere Inc., said the council is "out of step" with the nation's views on the holiday.

"I don't think they're doing the right thing," he said. "When you don't (observe the holiday), it shows you're out of step. It makes us look like rednecks."

Larry Webb of Greenville, who is in commercial real estate, said he thinks the council's position is ill-advised.

"I think they should stop hiding behind the excuse that it's a business decision," he said. "They should go ahead and approve the holiday."

County officials have estimated the cost of the holiday to be about $134,000 in lost productivity. In addition, deputies, emergency personnel and other employees who have to work that day would get holiday pay.

Some council members have said those pushing for the holiday at Tuesday's meeting were a "special interest group" and "extremists."

Hipp called that "nothing more than an excuse."

"It's hiding behind something," he said. "In fact, many people define an extremist as someone who disagrees with you. And there is some disagreement here."

Henderson has said it's not a big issue to the average county resident, who she said likes the county's image.

"Frankly, I am glad to live in a community that adheres to conservative family values," she said. "It's the kind of place where, if you want to live in a community like this, you can live in Greenville. If you want to live somewhere where the community doesn't adhere to those kind of values, you can go live there."

But Hipp said it's not an family values issue.

"That's like saying we have really good water and therefore we should vote against Martin Luther King. This isn't a family values issue. We all support that," he said.

He said the time has come for the county to recognize the holiday, which is observed by at least 35 of the state's 46 counties.

"It's a vote of support for equality and diversity," he said. "It's supported by many of us in Greenville, black and white, conservative and liberal, old and young. It's an idea and position whose time has come, and it's the appropriate thing to do."

But, he said, the issue is even bigger than adoption of a holiday.

"It's more than just Martin Luther King, just like Christmas is more than Santa Claus and Thanksgiving is more than just a turkey and July Fourth is more than just a flag," he said. "It's a recognition of broad themes and broad feelings."