My first trip to the south was for a wedding in Chattanooga Tennessee. I was walking by myself enjoying the view when a woman who must have been close to 80 years old asked me if I was visiting. I said yes and she said well, you must go see all the beautiful bridges etc. It was a lovely conversation and she was really proud of her town. I thought to myself, "what a lovely woman," and then she told me to stay away from a particular part of town, pointed in its direction and said "because of all the niggers." My jaw dropped, I honestly did not know what to say. I can't remember if I just slowly walked away or if I said something along the lines of, "well I'm not a racist so that will be fine." -I was gobsmacked. So, to your point, it's much more on the sleeve in the south, which is not to say that it is any more or less prevalent.