That "mildly welcoming/neutral attitude at best and open hostility that is leaning-towards-but-not-exactly-racism" attitude proves my point. That's much better than what folks from Black Africa, many with a much lighter skin tone than you, experience.
> It's almost as if we welcome you with open arms.
Perhaps there is something being lost in cross-cultural language or sarcasm, but I don't think "We might be racist to you, but we're way worse racist to this other group, so you have it good, really" should be expressed as "..as if we welcome you with open arms" and "You have an advantage...". Both of those are traditionally very positive expressions and you are applying them to fairly negative actual events.
I agree that the wording might be a bit inaccurate, but the sentiment in the liberal cities is definitely very welcoming. Personally, having lived in Austin, a liberal city in Texas, I've rarely encountered any explicit racism.
Than an Indian is the ex-governor of Louisiana and the current governor of South Carolina is an Indian woman says a lot. And those are are some of the reddest of states.