8,000 march for holiday

The march was a sea of signs. (JASON PARKER/Staff) e-mail this story Related Related stories: • Civil rights warriors re-enlist for march Photo gallery • Images from the march

The protesters walked for an hour from the County Courthouse to the parking lot of County Square, where they met another 2,000 people protesting the County Council's refusal to adopt a paid holiday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

City police estimated the crowd at County Square at 10,000, by far the largest protest rally ever held in Greenville. They rallied for two hours near a stage set up only yards from the council's chambers.

"We have one thing to say today," said Kweisi Mfume, the national NAACP president. "We're not going to turn around on this issue."

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who marched at the front of the line with Mfume and television Judge Greg Mathis, preached so loudly he was hoarse after his 20-minute speech. He said the council continued a tradition of segregation and slavery.

"Today, we begin a new march," he said, "a march to revive the Southern civil rights struggle."

Many in the crowd jumped and hollered as Jackson spoke. They carried signs demanding "respect, dignity, fairness."

Afterward, he said he was thrilled at the response to the march and rally.

"We've broken a silence here and laid the groundwork for a coalition to address a broad range of issues," Jackson told The Greenville News. "The King holiday is about respect."

Mfume warned about the "benign" problem of ignoring civil rights.

"There's a consequence for going against the will of the nation and so many of its people," he said. "It's kind of strange that this one little county, in its own sense of defiance, wants to hold itself out as the last vestige of a philosophy and a thought that most Americans reject."

Respect has been the rallying cry of holiday supporters since the issue was first brought up by Councilwoman Xanthene Norris last October. Breyonda Brewster and Brittany Sledge, both 15, didn't need a megaphone to lead their section in a chant of "Fired up, ready to go."

The Greenville teens said the presidents have their own day and King should too. "He changed the world," Sledge said.

While the County Council can't consider the issue again until next April, Norris said the mass show of support for a holiday could turn the tide.

"Whether or not it happens tomorrow or next week, it's going to make a difference," she said.

Also marching at the front with Jackson and Mfume was Mathis, who has a syndicated court show on television. Mathis rose from a criminal background to become the youngest judge in Detroit history and an active civil rights leader, and his thanks to Jackson for helping him at the rally evoked the biggest reaction from the protesters.

There were no counterprotesters, unlike at the Greenville County Council meetings.

Greenville police Capt. Gary McLaughlin said 8,000 people marched and met another 2,000 at County Square.

When the front of the march reached the top of the Church Street bridge, the end was still near the county courthouse on East North Street.

Along the way, cars backed up in the northbound lanes of Church Street as the marchers came over the bridge. Some drivers applauded, and one even held her cell phone out the window to capture the chants of: "It's not about black or white, it's about wrong or right," "Do the right thing, honor Dr. King," and even the civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome."

There was a three-car wreck in the northbound lanes after a car struck a stopped car, causing it to strike another car that had stopped because of the march.

Many held yellow NAACP signs. Edward Robinson, 67, of Greenville, who has a son in the military, said, "We need more dignity in Greenville. If I can go to Korea and he can go to the Persian Gulf, then we need to honor Dr. King."

Jim Hennigan, the white Republican from Mauldin who scolded the County Council during the April 1 meeting, wore a yellow "March Volunteer" shirt during the march. He said he didn't expect he'd still be fighting for a King holiday.

"I was hoping it would be over that night," he said. When asked if he would continue fighting actively, he pointed to the black armband supporters have worn for more than a month.

Twelve SLED agents, 15 Greenville police officers and Chief Willie Johnson and 12 state constables were on the scene. Eight other state officers provided security for dignitaries. A few sheriff's deputies were at County Square for the rally.

Most of the marchers were from Greenville and the Upstate, but they were joined by NAACP and Rainbow/PUSH Coalition chapters from Georgia.

Barbara Geter arrived in Greenville from Athens, Ga., to march against what she called injustice. She said it wasn't her first march — that happened in the 1960s — nor would it be her last.

"We're here to make our voices collectively heard," she said. "The funny thing is I think the need is as real today as it was in the '60s."

Atlanta resident Michael Adams, who is originally from Clinton, said he came to show respect for King and support Greenville's blacks.

"County Council is alone in denying the legacy of Dr. King," he said.

Other groups at odds with the County Council also marched Saturday. Members of the Parents and Families of Lesbians and Gays group marched in support the NAACP's fight against the County Council.

"They're discriminating not only against blacks, they're discriminating against women and gay people," said Bill Rowland. "They've done nothing but tore up this community for the last six years or more."

After the rally, while a cadre of security from the Nation of Islam protected them from a throng of autograph-seekers, Jackson and other local leaders like Greenville school board trustee Grady Butler and state Rep. Karl Allen discussed the next steps.

Efia Nwangaza, leader of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, was part of the crowd.

"It's easy to mobilize people for a parade," she said. "The question is, can you educate, motivate and organize folk to recognize their own interests and pursue them in a conscious and life-affirming way?"

But for most, Saturday's march and rally was about exercising their rights and telling the County Council they disagree.

"We're here to express ourselves; we're here to do the right thing," Jacqueline R. Jackson of Greenville said.

"We are representing," Jackson said. "They want numbers, they got them."