It's not all in the past.
I had a former co-worker go to a job site in Arkansas (small town) for a week. Ex-USMC officer, white. Goes to a national hotel chain to check in. It's late, maybe 10pm. He asks the lady where he can go get a beer. She says hotel bar closed, only place in town is across the tracks, but you don't want to go there because that the N* bar.
He was shocked to hear that from a stranger, at her workplace, in public, to a stranger, and just super casual about it. He didn't really react. She treated him to a few more n-bombs as she checked him in and told him where not to go in town, and he shuffled off to bed.
Next day he meets up with 2 other co-workers (both black) for breakfast, and is like concerned and "hey, how are you guys doing here in this place" and they're like "oh yeah, this is just how it is some small towns like this". Like they weren't really all that shocked. THAT shocked him (me too), but then, he's white, the military doesn't tolerate it at all, etc. Gave me a new level of empathy about it, realizing that people I knew still were dealing with this BS.
Anyway, that was an eye-opener to him and me both, that just because we don't see or feel it, doesn't mean it doesn't still exist. Be decent, raise your kids decent, and speak up against it when you see it.
