The American South is a region of the United States, located in the geographic south of the country. The states of Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas are counted among the South's states. The South consists mostly of whites (especially Scots-Irish, Scots, Welsh, English, Irish and French), African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans, with little racial diversity. The "Bible Belt" runs through the South, which is one of the most religious areas of the country; the Baptists and other Protestant denominations are major religious groups in the region. In addition, the South has historically been a center of racism in the country, starting with the discrimination against Native Americans and African slavery, and segregation existed in almost all of the states until the late 20th century (in some cases, the early 21st century).