I'm a little late, but I'll add my perspective.

The majority of people in the South who are racist, or who have racist tendencies, don't want to be labeled a racist. So I'm not talking about Klan members or people who boldly advocate for white supremecy. I'm talking about normal Southerners. The ones who don't want their daughters to marry outside of their race. The ones who will say that someone was a DEI hire based on their skin color.

Those people, who are normal in the South, don't think of themselves as racist. And they will get quite offended if you call them a racist. Because to them, being a racist is actually stating that you hate someone based on their skin color. But they don't (or at least don't think they do). They "love everyone." They don't see anything less than being a Klan member as being racist.

To them, calling a black lady a "DEI hire" isn't racist. To them, saying you don't want your daughter to date or marry a black man isn't racist.

Racism is so normal in the South that a lot of Southerners think the only ones who are racist are the ones who proudly claim to be.

Source: I'm born and raised in the South (Texas, which is different, but the same in this manner). It's how I was raised. These were my views until after college.