Pacific Standard: Political Racism is Stronger in the South

According to political scientist Seth Masket, Southerners certainly express racist sentiments less overtly than in the past.  He also notes that the South has evolved significantly in the recent pass, and moreover, non-Southern regions of the U.S. are hardly racism-free either.

But Masket contends that, when it comes to using coded language to express hostility--particularly political hostility--towards minorities, Southerners do so in greater numbers.

Examples of such symbolic racist language, according to Masket, would include complaints against immigrants, welfare recipients, food stamps users, etc.

Pacific Standard: Symbolic Racism and Southern Politics

Salon.com: Political Racism in the South

"But even with all that progress and all the movement of people into and out of the region over the past half century, key cultural differences do remain. A future Paula Deen could emerge in the North. But she’s far more likely to emerge in the South." 

----Seth Masket, Pacific Standard