Is Charleston, South Carolina a racist place?

I don't mean to make blanket statements about any geographical area, because I know that it just wouldn't ring true in every case, but I am a soon-to-be new grad currently residing in the Bay Area of California, and I am considering applying for a software designer job in Charleston, and my parents and friends are all discouraging me heavily because they have the notion that South Carolina is not a racially diverse or accepting place, and to tell you the truth, I've never heard anyone defend this state to show that these kinds of allegations weren't true. I'd hate to give up a good opportunity, but I do want to live in a diverse environment and hope to live in a place where I can interact freely with people from various backgrounds. I would very much appreciate your thoughts on what kind of place Charleston is. By the way, I was raised in Texas, but it is actually very diverse, though this definitely isn't the general opinion people have of it. So any Charlestonians, prove me wrong!

Public Comments

1. The city of Charleston is not the same as the state of South Carolina at large. Charleston is a modern city, and a college town at that, which means that the people are (almost by default) more liberal and diverse than you'd find in the more rural areas of the state. The place still bears a lot of the marks from its racist past - you can still visit the old slave market, for instance, and without question the poorest areas of town and those places where "you just don't go after dark" are predominantly African-American. Having said that, if you're going to live in the South, do it right. Charleston is a beautiful city and I'd definitely recommend it.
2. I've lived in the bay area,san diego,LA and twenty nine palms. Give me Charleston any day. People are friendly and not a bunch of nuts. Anywhere in South Carolina is better than SF area.I've been here over 30 years and don't intend to leave.