I remember when I lived in rural South Carolina, and one of my co-workers' house burned down. Everyone took up a collection, donated furniture, clothes, etc. It's part of the culture down there. This was a white co-worker, and most of the people donating were white.

What is not noted in this article is the influence of the church. While this incident (the house burning down) happened with a co-worker, I know that most of the people in that area went to church and that churches regularly did take up funds for various things. This was both white and black churches. This was back in the early '90s and most churches at that time were not integrated, though the white church I went to did have a couple of black members as well as several Asians and I know a few white people who went to predominantly black churches.

When I went home with a black friend over the holidays, his grandmother hit me up for a donation for her church's roof fund. My friend took me aside and let me know I didn't have to donate anything but of course I chipped in a few bucks.

Another time, I lost my job and one of my white friends asked if I needed help. (I'm Asian). He was serious about donating cash if I needed it to cover rent or utilities. And I knew if I'd asked people at church or asked my previous co-workers - they would have helped.

All of this was just part of the "Christian community" that used to be very much a part of the culture of rural America. One reason that African-Americans were so resilient is that they used to be deeply involved in their churches and members would help each other. They also did police each others' behavior to some degree.

A black acquaintance got pregnant out of wedlock and surprisingly to me was shunned by her church. My white roommate was the one who took her to the hospital to deliver her baby. They were best friends.