"Sadly enough, people are still racist everywhere around the world, but in the South, it is much worse," she said.

Anna Hayes is a high school senior from a small town in southern Arkansas called Lake Village. She told BuzzFeed News that racism is a big issue in her community.

Unfortunately, Anna said that bigotry extends to her own family. Her father has been openly racist as long as she can remember "for unknown reasons," she said.

Anna lived with her father for some time when she was younger after her parents divorced, but moved back in with her mother when she was a young teenager.

Since then, she and her father have not had much of a relationship, she said.

"He had always been openly racist around me when I was growing up in his household, but it never really occurred to me what it exactly meant to be racist," she said. "When you're a child you look at the world completely different."

She added that her father's views are especially hurtful because her half sister on her mom's side is biracial, so the issue is personal for them.

"He has told me that if I ever dated a black guy that I will and would be dead to him," she said. "I stood my ground for what I believe in. He has called me several horrible things before."