It was a thing - that was considered "normal" - the default setting of American Society. If you look closely - the Civil Rights Movement and "Integration" correlate with the rise in use... Also - computers and the internet are connected with the period of peak use - of something that was more of an academic field of study, at earlier points in history.

It exsited back then, but it is now a word used alot by people who never experienced real racism (like slavery, segregation, or genocide.), only this modern day racism bullshit (as i like to call it "Twitter Racism"). And the worst part is that they use the term "Racism" for personal gains or revenge and not to make the world a better place for everyone and to stop real racism.

no hate to anyone, but thats just my opinions based on what I've seen.