It's more complex than that.

Blacks and whites have had a relationship in the South since the early 1700s. For the first 250 years, it was mostly a bad one. But, once the ball started rolling for civil rights, Southerners found it easier to accept Blacks for themselves because there was a relationship to build on. Even a bad relationship provides some ground for growth. In contrast, Blacks and Whites in northern cities just seem to be separated by an impenetrable barrier. Even here in St. Louis, which is a half-and-half mix of Northern and Southern attitudes, the racism *seems* explicit but in fact is mostly talk, and people treat Blacks with respect and courtesy, even if their words seem to indicate otherwise. To give an example - in the mayoral election, one of the candidates - a Black - tried to play the "race card" and was utterly destroyed at the poles. People here don't play that. We have a White mayor who won the majority of the Black vote.


In short, a lot of what you may think is explicit racism in the South is usually just words.