Have We Not Made Any Inroads?

This semester (my last one!) I have been taking a coupe of classes on race relations and the law. It has opened my eyes to the way I, and most others, view the world and how the world really is. I thought that when the Civil Rights Movement passed laws to better the minority communities that blatant racism died. However, it has been brought to my attention on numerous occasions that racism and racist beliefs are very much alive in the United States. For example, this morning when I looked at my Facebook news feed I came across a story from a news station in my hometown. Now to get a clear idea on how Lubbock is you must first learn how the city is geographically and racially laid out. The streets that run north to south are numbered in order starting at 1. The streets that run east to west are in alphabetical order. Texas Tech University is located on University Avenue and Interstate 27 is considered on the east side of town. There is also a "loop" that runs around the town. Racially speaking most white people live on the west side of town and rarely go east of University to live. In fact, I don't remember ever living east of Slide Road. Hispanic and Asian people usually reside between Indiana Avenue and University Avenue. The east side of town (east of I-27 and along MLK) is predominately where the African American community in Lubbock lives. Ok now that you have an idea of how Lubbock is laid out I will get back to the news story. A white woman wrote KCBD News 11 about her families experiences since moving to Lubbock from Atlanta, Georgia. They are an interracial couple and have 3 (or 4) beautiful biracial children. Since moving to Lubbock they have had watermelons thrown at their home, dead animals placed in their yard, a used condom placed on their car, and now their children are getting bullied at school. This story has made me angry and so ashamed of my hometown. Where is the Southern Lubbock hospitality that the city brags about? I never considered Lubbock to be a mecca for racist behaviors but as my husband has told me more than once (he went to school at Tech), Lubbock is the most racially segregated big city that he has ever lived in or visited. Do Lubbockites not think that this type of segregation is wrong? Are the actions of such ignorant people accepted by the community? I can only say that I was born and raised in Lubbock and never thought that I would be embarrassed of my hometown but after reading this story how can I not be embarrassed for myself and my beloved hometown?