BTW, since moving over to Alabama, I have engaged in several debates with people who claim to not be racist but would not look kindly on their children dating another race.
Yep, the taboo of inter-racial dating is still very strong here: even among folks who otherwise wouldn't express any racism. Folks still talk in furtive whispers about "half-white" babies and such- and not just whites either, I should note. Often good Christian parents will not allow their children to date people of other "races", and often try to back it up Biblically (I've found that Paul's injunction to not be unequally yoked is a favorite). That the Bible has no such commands, but rather seems awful clear on the matter of human races (we all came from one family), often times does not hinder deepset ideas. While I don't agree with it, I understand it- racial ideas in the South go back centuries, and old habits die hard.
It is interesting to note that two hundred years ago inter-racial marriage would not have been considered taboo in much of the South. Many a frontier man took an Indian bride. Oddly, the taboos against black and white marriage have been expanded to include other ethnic groups as well.