If We are to Overcome Our Racism, We Must Recognize it

A person can vote against a black person while citing numerous other reasons for not wanting that person elected, while deep in his heart, it is because the candidate is, indeed black. Do we say this is impossible, and that it would never happen?
I judge no one person of this. I only say it can happen. And does. Somewhere out there, there is this level of racism. To suppose that this level of racism does not exist is to not fathom that there are different degrees of racism. It is to suppose that we can go all the way to being a radical racist, without stopping a a rung somewhere along the way. Racism is not an all or none thing; It can come in degrees. And, it can come in open admission you are a racist as well as it can come in hiding it from even admitting to your own self that you are a racist.
I consider that recognizing that there are degrees is one of the important social issues of our day. I wonder if this type of racism occurs, to some degree, in most all of us. It is something we should want to root out of ourselves, and out of our society.
But, if we are to overcome this fault in ourselves, we must recognize that we have it. It goes back to the repentance model we learn in church. We cannot overcome a fault unless we recognize it, and feel sorrow for having it. There will be no repentance without these two things.
If we will not even admit such a person exists -- much less look for it in our own hearts -- we are far from the road of repentance.