BLACK LEADERS WARY OF NEW JAIL

Some Say Reason For Prison Plan Is 'Horrendous'

SALTERS (AP) -- Officials in struggling Williamsburg County see the new
federal prison rising behind the pines along a lonely two-lane highway as
the answer to the high unemployment level.

But some black leaders wonder whether a county that is more than two-thirds
black should tie its future to a system that locks up so many members of
their race.

The $110 million medium-security prison will hold about 1,150 inmates and
is scheduled to open at the end of the year. It will bring more than 380
jobs, most of them paying well more than double the county's average
personal income of $12,794, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons.

But the prison "brings in jobs for a horrendous reason," said the Rev. Joe
Darby, first vice president of the S.C. chapter of the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People. "Some used to argue slavery was good
for the economy, but it was bad for the slaves."

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, an S.C. native, likens building a prison in the
county to bringing in an industry that pollutes.

"We need to solve the problem of lack of education, and we are not going to
solve it by incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders," Jackson said, echoing
arguments that have come up in other places around the country where new
prisons have been built.

The civil rights activist attacked what he called the "prison-industrial
complex" in a series of speeches across South Carolina earlier this year.
Jackson said he would rather see the government put the money into
developing industry.

The Urban League has not taken a stand against the prison.

James T. McLawhorn Jr., president of the Columbia chapter, said the push
for reform of the criminal justice system will have to take place somewhere
else. "You can't fight that on the front of Williamsburg County," he said.

Similarly, the state NAACP has not officially taken a position on the
project. "If I was living in Williamsburg County and I was unemployed, I'd
certainly be asking for a job there," Darby said.

Williamsburg County Supervisor Richard Treme said the economic effects of
the prison will extend well beyond the 10-foot fence topped with barbed wire.

The prison may make the poor, rural area more attractive to industry,
because the county built a wastewater treatment plant, a 240-foot water
tower and more water lines to accommodate the prison, he said.

"Even if all these workers left right now and nothing else was done on this
site, we've still gained a lot with this project," Treme said.

In Williamsburg County, one-third of all households make less than $15,000
a year, and the unemployment rate stood at 18.7 percent in July.

Textile mill jobs have all but disappeared, and a latex glove manufacturer
that employed thousands for decades closed eight years ago. Unemployment
soars in the winter, when hotel, restaurant and golf course jobs dry up in
Myrtle Beach, 70 miles away.

So plenty of black people who live and work in the county accept the more
pragmatic, economic arguments about jobs and nice salaries.

"Bring the jobs here," said Linda Nelson, as she sat in a coin-operated
laundry in Greeleyville about six miles from the new prison. "If you have a
job, you can stay out of trouble and stay out of jail."