No, I don’t have a xenophobic view of the South. Southern Illinois is both geographically, and culturally more akin to its Kentucky and Missouri neighbors than it is to, say Chicago or Springfield. Historically, there was an “anti Undergroud Railroad” moving slaves back to the south even though Illinois was a free state.
Most of the South dealt with integration much better than Cairo. In the 60s white business owners refused to hire black employees. The blacks boycotted the businesses so effectively that eventually virtually all the businesses closed. End result, once prosperous Cairo is virtually a ghost town. Biggest employers are the public school and welfare offices. There is hardly any tax base so don’t exceed the speed limit as you drive through, you will get a ticket.