True, the midwest as a region is broad and well-defined. But I'm guessing what the poster referred to us the midwest north of the mason-dixon line.
The upper midwest has its own breed of racism. It is quiet but built in to the socio-economic fabric of cities there in a way even worse than the south in many ways.
I'd like to point out that midwestern cities are among the most segragated in the U.S.[1] Minnesota, the place where I grew up, is famous for having one of the best public school systems in the country. What you won't hear Minnesotans talking about, though, it the ugly fact that Minnesota has the highest discrepancy in educational outcomes of any city in the country.
If you're from there, its easy to see why. There are exclusive suburbs with incredible schools for the local upper-class kids. But if you go to the inner city the schools are a joke. The difference is shocking in person.
The worst part is, there is not even a conversation in the upper midwest about race. The dominant narrative is that its a southern problem.
> What you won't hear Minnesotans talking about, though, it the ugly fact that Minnesota has the highest discrepancy in educational outcomes of any city in the country.
That's just simply incorrect (and, also, Minnesota is a state, not a city, you're probably referring to Minneapolis?). That's in the major local paper (Star Trib) weekly, if not more frequently. It is a topic of significant conversation and another proposed effort is being debated in the MN House currently, as well as efforts to decrease the number of suspensions disproportionately received by minority students, and a push to offer "free" preschool for lower class families, which will likely be approved soon.
Also, simply chalking up the cause of these issues to "racism" is lazy thinking. There's far more at play, including a significant immigrant population (large populations of Somali and Hmong, for instance), an inability for the MPLS school district to recruit good leadership, and more.
The upper midwest has its own breed of racism. It is quiet but built in to the socio-economic fabric of cities there in a way even worse than the south in many ways.
I'd like to point out that midwestern cities are among the most segragated in the U.S.[1] Minnesota, the place where I grew up, is famous for having one of the best public school systems in the country. What you won't hear Minnesotans talking about, though, it the ugly fact that Minnesota has the highest discrepancy in educational outcomes of any city in the country.
If you're from there, its easy to see why. There are exclusive suburbs with incredible schools for the local upper-class kids. But if you go to the inner city the schools are a joke. The difference is shocking in person.
The worst part is, there is not even a conversation in the upper midwest about race. The dominant narrative is that its a southern problem.
[1] http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/03/24/10-of-the-most-segreg...
Extra reading: http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2015/02/minnesota_has_the...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2015/02/17/if...
*Edited for completeness