As an American, I'd respond only to the cliche'd observation about race relations in the southern U.S. States... while that area was the center of the Civil Rights movement and subsequent violence in the 1960's the area has achieved an excellent rapport between the races. If one wants to see true hate between races then one needs to travel no farther than East Los Angeles or some other supposed enlightened urban area and view the daily mayhem, murder and other assorted violence that goes on between the Latinos and Blacks...
This isn't to deny an underlying uneasyness concerning race relations, but this particular primary season (due, in most part to it's unprecedented length) has seen the most visible racisim originating within the Black Community, in my estimation. In fact Mr. Obama's guiding principle seems to be to blunt any crtiticism of his inexperience, waffling or extreme liberal views with counter-charges of racisim. Anything that may be said to question his ability to adequately fill the office is met by charges of such concerns being racially motivated. The recent expose's of sermons given by two pastor's of his long time church were undoubtedly the most racially based and divisive statements I've seen since Jim Crow days as a child in the South...