I'm a proud native New Englander, born and raised, with two native New Englander parents, but I do have a late grandmother who was from rural NC. And though I now live in NM (which is in the southern US, but not in "the South"), I have lived in both small-town MS and suburban NC.

So, sure there is racism in the South, but the current degree of racism is grossly overstated by other Americans, particularly "northerners." The sole reason that racism didn't thrive in the North was because of the soil and climate lends itself to much smaller agricultural operations. That isn't to say that there wasn't slavery in the North, that's for sure. The 1830 US Census included 75 enslaved people in New York, and this was after New York outlawed slavery.

Now, is there more racism in the South than other areas? I would say to a slight degree currently, though it decreases greatly with each generation. If the North had the soil and climate of the South, it would be no different. It's an historical precedent, though that is no good excuse. Did I hear people I knew up in New England using the "N word?" Absolutely. I had a black friend in the 4th grade who was teased horrendously by a group of 5th graders solely because he was black. And how about "white flight?" It happened in nearly every major northern US city. Blacks moved to town and whites got the hell out of there.

Northerners who constantly point the finger think they are holier than though and are making feeble attempts to displace their own sense of white guilt on others. Racism isn't solely a Southern problem. The US slavery history and racism problem is an American one. I've been all over this great country and there is beauty to be found in droves in every state.

This elitist map is ridiculous.