COLUMBIA--South Carolina's black lawmakers are making diversity in the workplace their top priority, and have asked Gov. Mark Sanford to help them improve conditions in the state.

The push comes just a week after members of the Legislative Black Caucus walked out of judicial elections in the General Assembly when an all-white slate of candidates was elected. Since then, minority groups have talked about the potential of taking legal action to increase their representation in the courts.

Sen. Robert Ford's Civil Rights and Affirmative Action Committee of the caucus has asked Sanford and other legislative power brokers to take the lead in their efforts.

"If the state shows leadership, the business community will follow," said Ford, D-Charleston.

There are 32 members of the Legislative Black Caucus, and they represent nearly 20 percent of the General Assembly's 170 lawmakers. But as Republicans increase their control of the Legislature, black lawmakers -- all of whom are Democrats -- feel increasingly as if they have no voice.

As such, they say they can sympathize with the plight of black workers in South Carolina. Proof of bias, Ford says, is in the numbers.

-- Of the 1,272 state employees who make $100,000 or more annually, only seven are black. Almost all of those jobs are in the state's universities and colleges.

-- Out of the 112 judges the Legislature elects to the Supreme, Appeals, Circuit and Family courts, only seven are black. One administrative law judge in the state is black.

-- The greatest number of black state employees are in the lowest-paying jobs, those that pay between $19,000 and $30,000 annually.Ford said proof that state government sets the tone is evident in the Statehouse lobby, where only 18 of 250 registered lobbyists are black.

State Rep. David Mack, chairman of the South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus, said this focus ties into the judgeship issue -- but it's bigger than that.

"This is the big economic issue in South Carolina that no one wants to talk about," said Mack, D-North Charleston. "The numbers are absolutely ridiculous."

Mack said the state government rolls are a prime example. If "the best and brightest" in the black community cannot compete for the best jobs, "imagine what it's like for the average person trying to get a job."

Ford said key Republicans have promised to speak with the caucus, and on Wednesday the governor's office said it is willing to talk strategy.

"The governor has always felt that expanding the number of perspectives you bring to the table is good because it means you're expanding the potential solutions that are out there to the problems we're trying to address as a state," said Sanford spokesman Will Folks. "That's why he's made diversity a priority in his appointments, whether to his Cabinet or to state and local boards and commissions."