I became a Christian in college and one thing that forced me to confront fellow Christians was when I moved to the South and noticed some of the ways they treated non-whites. For example, looking down at a Chinese guy getting his PhD - because he didn't speak perfect English. I confronted the person and asked if they could speak Chinese? Because he was speaking a second language (English) so much better than any of the guys making fun of him, as well as the fact that he was doing advanced math and so on. I've also confronted cops on behalf of a black friend..

however, to be fair, MOST of the people I knew living in rural South Carolina were NOT racist. I'd go out with coworkers of all races, dated people who were white or dark skinned, etc. The white mother of a guy I dated for a while was much more accepting and welcoming that an Asian immigrant mother whose son brought me home. When I introduced my Southern friends to my parents, they were super polite and welcoming. However, there were pockets of racism, and the people who were racist were pretty awful. One friend of mine was married to an Indian doctor. She was a dark-skinned Indian who grew up in Wales and had a British accent. Over the phone the racist club member was super friendly, but when she met my friend - she changed and the racism came out.

I think the South is much less racist than it used to be 30 years ago but obviously it still exists.