Is Tennessee ready for a black senator? Is the US ready for a woman president? Why do these questions have to be asked at all?

Should Patrick win the Sept. 19 primary and the general election, he would be the state's first black governor and could be only the second black person ever elected governor in the nation.
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... 1989 when L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia became the nation's first black elected governor.

Why is the South continuously vilified for racism when it is obviously a problem nation-wide?

"I know that this is America, so race is on people's minds, but the welcome has been warm, and look at what we've built, look at it: We've got 20,000 contributors and volunteers across the commonwealth," Patrick said in an interview.

Why is race on people's minds?