Overnight sit-in rekindles spirit of '60s activism

A woman rests her head on the County Council desk after midnight in the Greenville County Council chambers Wednesday morning during the overnight sit-in to promote the MLK holiday. e-mail this story to a friend Related Web extra • Photo essay of the demonstration

From Tuesday night until early Wednesday morning, dozens of people fighting to honor Martin Luther King Jr. with a county holiday staged an impromptu sit-in in the wood-paneled chambers of Greenville County Council.

The demonstration began in response to the council's decision to not extend the 30-minute time limit for public speaking to allow the Rev. Jesse Jackson and others to speak. Demonstrators, who ranged in age from a 4-year-old to senior citizens, sang the songs that marked the civil rights era: "We Shall Overcome" and "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Roun'."

"Never in my wildest dream back in the Sixties did I ever feel that 40 years later when I would be a grandparent that we would still be dealing with issues related to justice and equity," said Leola Robinson, a Greenville County school trustee who spent the night in the council chambers. Robinson was 15 when she demonstrated outside the public library in July 1960.

Most County Council members have said they will not support the King holiday, partly, they say, because of the cost to pay sheriff's deputies and EMS personnel. They say that would put financial constraints on the county's budget.

Councilwoman Xanthene Norris proposed the holiday for county employees last fall. The council's Public Safety Committee, which Norris sits on, voted Monday to delay its decision for six months and to form a citizen task force to discuss the issue.

Jackson, who appeared before County Council two weeks ago, said early Wednesday morning the delay was unacceptable.

Council members stayed for about 10 minutes after the meeting adjouned to listen to Jackson. When the group started singing "We Shall Overcome," many members left the chambers. Council members Cort Flint, Judy Gilstrap, Lottie Gibson and Norris joined hands and sang along.

On crutches to support a broken ankle, Jackson quickly organized the demonstration, asking who would stay through the night and who would be willing to go to jail if they were forced out.

Dozens of people raised their hands. Some had come to the chambers earlier in the day to participate in a prayer vigil that sounded more like a pep rally outside County Square.

"We must have perfect order, and our words must have meaning. ... The agenda is for Greenville County to join the nation," Jackson said as he organized the sit-in. He also said those who could not stay would still be considered part of the fight. Norris left because she was ill.

In the sit-in's early hours, people sat in the rows of chairs in the chambers and in the County Square lobby and talked about future efforts to get the holiday. Some crowded around a television left in the chambers to watch news coverage of the event.

"There was a lot of reflection through the night," said Grady Butler, a Greenville County School trustee who spent the night. "We sat around and talked about the plight of things. I am saddened about the rigid stance (the council) has taken about not honoring Dr. King's birthday as the nation has, and what this means.

"It makes us look really silly," Butler added with a disappointed tone in his voice.

Stacks of Papa John's pizzas were delivered after midnight, paid for with donations from participants.

Brittney Davis, a 13-year-old student at Beck Academy, and her mother stayed the night. Brittney passed some of the time writing a two-page poem describing her feelings of fear about the possibility of jail, her desire for cable television in the chambers and her admiration for Jackson.

"I know I've been in at least six different positions in that chair, trying to sleep," she said.

Brittney eventually fell asleep on the chamber's gray carpet, trying to get some rest before she went to school. Others found spots in council members' chairs or slept between rows of seats. Jackson laid down briefly around 3 a.m. behind the council members' desk after he held a couple of meetings about strategy.

Throughout the night, sheriff's deputies stood in front of the glass doors to County Square and near the restrooms to make sure people didn't go farther down the hallway.

They let people leave County Square, but would not permit them to return. Only media and Councilwoman Lottie Gibson, the only council member who stayed overnight, were allowed to come and go as they pleased.

The sit-in ended shortly after 7 a.m. Jackson delayed his Wedneday morning flight back to Chicago, where he is president of Rainbow PUSH Coalition. He left Greenville later in the day.

He said he plans to return to his hometown Feb. 18 to appear before the County Council for a third time and voice his support for a King holiday on the third Monday in January, the day federal, state and city of Greenville offices are closed.

He said Wednesday morning he will present 10,000 petition signatures at that meeting in support of the holiday.

Jackson's appearance before the council Tuesday ended a four-day trip around the state to build support for a South Carolina chapter of his Rainbow/Push Coalition.

He said he plans to open a temporary office in Greenville to begin to organize efforts to get the King holiday and to create "a more ongoing presence here."

"This is 40 years since the march on Washington, and it's time to revisit the South and look at the accomplishments and the unfinished business of the civil rights struggle," Jackson said.

Butler said he's not certain what it will take to change council members' minds.

"It may take something drastic," he said.

— Michael Buchanan and Gwendolyn C. Young contributed to this report.

Sarah G. Bonnette covers Greenville County and growth issues. She can be reached at 298-4297.