katlaughing...
here is a suggestion from one who has been around the mulberry bush more than once. The most perfect two places in God's world to get the kind of insight and knowledge you seek are Selma, Alabama and Jackson, Mississippi. Both have seen upheavals in race relations since the Civil War. They have both been site of marches and demonstrations and lynchings and the whole racial free-for-all. Integration is far from achieved in both areas. The schools are desegregated but the division is a straight and narrow line. People here segregate themselves because that is the best way for them to live. Confederate flags fly plentiful and proudly. PLUS now there are latinos and a sprinkling of asians mixed into the fray. You want to learn first hand? Spend a month in this part of the world, visit the newspaper, clerks of court, pull up old court records and talk to the folks who live there. I can assure you, you will learn all that you care to. A picture IS worth a thousand words. The story is all in their eyes.

Q...you have to wait for summer? Come on down to the bayou country where something bites everyday. Bet that raises a few questions. And of course (goes without saying) the finest cooking there is.
Living on the edge of a swamp in a trailer with no A/C and no screens on the doors and windows...well, think about it.

Jack