GREENVILLE--The Rev. Jesse Jackson still loves his hometown. It's a little less clear how much it loves him back.

Jackson was back in Greenville on Saturday as part of a high-profile effort to push the county into joining nearly all of South Carolina in celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a holiday.

His presence, along with that of NAACP President Kweisi Mfume and other black leaders, helped attract thousands to a march downtown during an overcast, misty day.

While Jackson has turned the spotlight on the long-simmering issue, he has been rebuffed by county officials who have continued to reject requests by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and others to create the holiday.

Some black leaders have questioned the wisdom of Jackson's efforts.

Even some residents who live in the housing project where he grew up have complained that he has not spent enough time trying to improve his hometown.

Jackson was at the center of attention during Saturday's march, after which he revved up the crowd with rapid-fire rhetoric.

"It's fight back time. It's stand up time. It's justice time," he said. "Our time has come."

He received a warm welcome at the march, but critics say Jackson, who was born in Greenville in 1941, has seen his standing as a national black leader erode.

"Rev. Jackson is losing his credibility throughout the nation," said Greenville County Councilman Steve Selby, who opposes the King holiday. "Nobody's listening to him."

Selby, who is white, said Jackson's standing has been hurt by reports of his extramarital affair and by perceptions that his Rainbow/PUSH coalition intimidates companies into contributing to the organization by threatening boycotts.

He said many in Greenville don't see Jackson as a local man who made good, but as "a local guy who became a great extortionist."

Even some black leaders have attacked Jackson.

The Rev. Donald Ray Smith, a lifelong Greenville resident who is black, wrote a recent newspaper column chastising Jackson's efforts on the King issue as "hype."

"Our local black leaders cannot afford to be silent while the reins of community leadership are pried from their hands by political slicksters and opportunists," Smith wrote.

Jackson still inspires significant respect and admiration in Greenville, however.

Lottie Gibson, a member of Greenville County Council who has pushed for the King holiday since the 1980s, said Jackson has energized support for the issue.

"They can say what they want about Rev. Jackson, but (he) has been a real force in getting us to where we are now," she said. "I have never seen this kind of mobilization, this kind of interest. And it's because of his efforts."

Gibson dismisses some of the carping as being motivated by jealousy.

"In my opinion, he is highly respected by many of us. Anybody who says differently, something is wrong with them," she said. "They're just jealous that this man has been able to come in here and mobilize all these people. In my opinion, they aren't doing anything but making damn fools of themselves."

Jackson said the effort has created serious momentum in Greenville County, both for the holiday and other issues.

He said he doesn't take the county's refusal to adopt the King holiday as a slap in his face.

"I can't take this personally. It's just that there are a lot of Confederate leanings in this town. There's some hard-core resistance here to racial justice, to gender equity, to a worker's right to organize," he said. "We want to bring the walls down."

Jackson clearly is embraced by many residents of his hometown.

Thousands followed him and other black leaders on Saturday's march, chanting "Do the right thing -- honor Dr. King," and "No justice, no peace."

Many waited around to shake his hand or to get an autograph or a picture.

"Anyone who speaks against Jesse Jackson speaks against what we stand for," said William H. Jones of Greenville.

At a visit last week to the neighborhood where he grew up, Jackson drew a crowd of supporters as he worked to drum up participation in the rally, according to a story in the Greenville News.

He received hugs and reminisced fondly about the neighborhood.

But some residents in the housing project named after him said he has not done enough in his hometown. One resident complained that Jesse Jackson Townhomes has problems with roaches.

Despite Jackson's involvement, the effort to get the King holiday seems to be stalled.

After contentious meetings, Greenville County Council rejected the holiday, deciding instead to let employees vote on which holidays they want.

The ongoing furor, for some, represents another stain on Greenville County's reputation, which took a hit when the county passed an anti-gay resolution several years ago. That led to the Olympic torch being carried through the county in a van, rather than on display.

Some Greenville boosters have touted the city over the years as a place "too busy to hate," a kind of mini-Atlanta where a focus on business and growth helped smooth the path of integration and other issues.

That's not quite accurate, said Steve O'Neill, a history professor at Furman University.

"I think that's a myth," he said. "It was not voluntary. Desegregation in Greenville was done by court order at every turn."

Greenville did avoid the kind of ugly incidents that stained the reputation of cities such as Birmingham, Ala., he said.

"Greenville can justifiably and proudly say that violence was avoided," he said. "But the notion that everything was sweet and light in Greenville during the civil rights movement is not true."

Leaders differ whether the national attention generated by the King day issue will affect the area.

Selby said opponents of the earlier resolution, which he described as simply taking a pro-family stand, predicted economic doom and gloom. That hasn't happened, he said.

The current issue is no different, he said.

"Just because the rest of the country is going in a certain direction doesn't mean Greenville County is going that way," Selby said.

Gibson said the attention is an embarrassment for Greenville.

"These people are so prejudiced and racist, they don't want to pass it. Surely, they see what the rest of the United States is doing," she said. "They just don't want to give no honor to a black man. It's ridiculous, and it really makes us look bad. People are tired of this."

Jackson expressed mixed feelings about Greenville, saying he first encountered racial prejudice there while growing up. But even though he moved away long ago, it still has a place in his heart, he said.

"I was born here," he said. "This is home."

Jason Hardin covers the city of Charleston. Contact him at 937-5549 or at jhardin@postandcourier.com.