Which just goes to show your ignorance. I'm sorry, guy, but you just don't realize how bad it has been, how bad it is to this day. It's not as bad is it once was, but anyone who thinks that racism is as bad in the north as in the Deep South either has never lived there or is being disingenuous.
See, that's the problem, guy. You are an educated individual, and as such you see what I do - you know very well why it's racist. It was built by those who knew that the black community would see that as a racist attack, but they built it anyway. That makes it racist.
But you want to pretend that it's not racist. And you would be RIGHT if you were showing the picture of that float to anyone who had no clue about American race relations and the role racism has played in American history. Problem is, you're NOT showing the picture to those who are ignorant of American race relations or the role racism has played in our history.
To put it another way, if you went to, say, Nepal, and called the locals n***ers to their faces, they probably wouldn't blink an eye - they would not understand the history of or the offense presented by that word...but if you say that word here, those hearing it would receive a whole different meaning.
Problem is, you KNOW all this - you KNOW that the photo is in and of itself NOT racist to those who don't have a clue about American race relations, and you KNOW that the float would obviously be seen as racist by most Americans. You can pretend otherwise all you want...but most people see right through your claims...including those who agree with you, who think that you and they are the only ones who understand what the dog whistle's actually saying.