Is Alabama still racist?

Is the sky blue? Will the sun rise tomorrow?

Shelby County in Alabama, just southeast of Birmingham, is challenging the constitutionality of a federal law. The law requires areas with a history of racial discrimination to seek permission from the Department of Justice or a federal court before changing any voting laws.

Currently, these restrictions apply to nine states (primarily in the South) and parts of several others.

The Supreme Court is hearing the case.

This sounds to me like someone is trying to find a small answer to a much bigger question — is the South still racist?

Yes. A million times yes. A proverbial yes. But so is the rest of America.

The rest of the country sees us the way we see Mississippi — backward. Not because we’re any more crooked than them, but because they want to make themselves feel less prejudiced.

Every region has a particular demographic that doesn’t bode well with the status quo. It’s not a uniquely Southern phenomenon.

Obviously, not all Southerners are racist, but every Southerner knows a racist. They come in all shapes and colors. I know several. I probably know more racists than I do black people.

It’s not that I purposefully try to hang out with racists, I just hear racist comments coming from a lot of white mouths. It’s more subdued than it was 30 or 40 years ago, but it’s still here.

Keep in mind, this is Baton Rouge. We have an eclectic mix of cultures here. It’s the state capital, which means we’re at least 8 percent less racist on average than the rest of Louisiana.

So how do you think Shelby County feels about black people?

Well, Shelby County is 85 percent white and only 11 percent black. Every elected official in Shelby County is white. And I don’t mean just normal white   — I mean Republican, hippie-hating white.

Not even the women have hair over their ears, everybody rocks the high ‘n tight. Don’t believe me? Shelby County’s government website has employee photos.

Only 5.7 percent of businesses in Shelby County are black-owned, while 92 percent are white-owned. More than 30 percent of businesses are owned by women, according to the most recent census data.

Clearly, whites dominate just about everything in Shelby County. Even women, who have historically suffered similar prejudices as African-Americans, are doing way better than the average black person.

So how do we know they’re racist?

We don’t. I would bet my last dollar some of them are, but we can’t prove it.

The Voting Rights Act was put in place to ensure all Americans equal opportunity in political participation. So wouldn’t it make sense, in areas that used to hang black people for sport, to keep a watchful eye out?

Nobody can prove the current Shelby County is racist. But based on the old Shelby County, and the rest of Alabama, feelings of white supremacy are never far away.

So let’s just keep an eye on them and make sure everyone, including a small black minority, has their voices heard.