Southern Pride

AP: Many Blacks Take Pride in Southern Roots----

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Blacks have a complicated love affair with the South. Their ancestors were enslaved in the region for generations, then Jim Crow laws pushed them to the back of the bus. From inner-city slums to old plantation counties, being black too often still means a second-class existence.

Yet surveys show blacks who live in the South are more likely than any other racial or ethnic group — even whites — to identify themselves as Southerners. It's a label millions claim with pride and affection, yet uneasiness.

For many black people, feelings for the South come back to family, summer cookouts, stories told on the porch, graciousness, gospel and Atlanta hip-hop. Their emotional ties are no less strong, even as they see a place that has yet to completely live down its past.