COLUMBIA ? Blacks in South Carolina have lost their way when it comes to civil rights and need to look to their communities, not black lawmakers, to re-energize their fight for equality, according to the incoming leader of the state legislative Black Caucus.

"I think we expect too much legislatively. We have 33 lawmakers out of 170. So, what we need to do is, as a community, get energized and go back to the days when the community was leading the effort," said Leon Howard, D-Columbia, chairman-elect of the Black Caucus.

Howard spoke Wednesday at a town hall meeting sponsored by the caucus, which will air on South Carolina Educational Television as a two-part series at 7 p.m. May 11 and May 18.

While South Carolina population is about 30 percent black, just over 19 percent of the state legislature is black.

Also most white lawmakers are second-, third- and fourth-generation business owners who can afford to serve in the

General Assembly because they already have a lot of money, Howard said.

"Look at the average age of the Black Caucus. Most of us were elected probably at age 40 or older because we've had to sustain other types of stability to be able to serve in the general assembly," Howard said.

Though they are a minority group within the minority party, the Black Caucus still has clout, said Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston.

"I don't think anyone in their right mind would disrespect any black senator or black representative in this state. We've got too much power for that to ever happen," Ford said. "When you're talking about 33 members in the caucus and eight of them are in the senate, we have a tremendous impact on every piece of legislation."

There were no blacks in the General Assembly between 1902 and 1970, when three were elected to the House, according to South Carolina House Clerk's office. The number of blacks in the legislature grew to 13 in 1974.

"They complain about 33 blacks in the legislature. When I was there, there were three," said former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Ernest Finney, who was elected to the General Assembly in 1972.

"For some reason we have not been able to pull ourselves together and speak with one voice about the issues with which we are concerned," Finney said.

Black Caucus members listed education and equitable pay as the two major issues facing black South Carolinians.

"To look at economic development in communities of color we have to look at different approaches," said Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg. "There are some things that we have done that don't require legislation, simply working through agencies and through the regulatory process to impact poverty."

Rep. Joe Neal, D-Hopkins, said education affects all other issues.

"There is a crisis in education in the African American community. And poverty plays a role in the failure of our schools," Neal said.

"Children coming out of poorer homes come to the school system exposed to almost a half-million fewer words than their wealthier counterparts. They spend their time trying to catch up and some never catch up," Neal said.

And some lawmakers think the Black Caucus isn't held accountable enough. "Stop giving us a pass because we look like you," Cobb-Hunter said.