From a reader:
I see three problems with this argument 1. Over the past 50 years large numbers of Northerners have moved to the South. It would be hard to demonize a region of the country that people have been voting for with their feet for decades. 2. The charge that the South is obstructing necessary future investments seems like it would be hard to sustain when places like the Triangle in North Carolina are on the cutting edge of new economic trends. 3. In the last 15 years or so, more African-Americans are moving to the South than leaving. This would seem to contradict the racism charge.