"... I can personally attest that the relations between the races here in the South are much less strained than in liberal, progressive California..."
I have a friend who is from Chicago and he will be the first to tell you that people up in his neck of the woods are much more racist than in the South...
I was amazed to see the racism of Southern California after growing up in Texas.
It is funny that the liberal/progressive” types are far less likely to live among blacks than conservatives.