Let me start by telling you as a white male, I don't have the best perspective for assessing discrimination. But as someone who grew up in the nearby town of Waynesboro, I do have a lot of perspective on the area. I grew up there, moved to DC for a few years, and now live in Chicago. I will most likely be returning to attend LS at W&L.
Virginia is not the deep south, but there is a fair amount of ignorance in the rural parts. This is mostly due, I believe, to almost no black residents in the area. Out of my high school class of 128 students, I think 5 were black. It's probably gotten a little more diversified since I left 10 years ago, but if you venture far outside of Lexington you're likely to see a lot of Nascar-lovin, cowboy boot and camoflauge wearing rednecks. You will also see the occasional rebel flag. If you scan the radio, you will hear many country stations, but also rock, pop and NPR. You will not see burning crosses - the KKK has been defunct for over 60 years, and never actually burned crosses anyway, it just makes for good fiction. (
http://www.kkklan.com/fierycross.htm - it's a historical site, not propaganda)
W&L, however, is a top-25 law school, and based on this influx is far more diverse than the surrounding areas (Jerry Falwell's Liberty University is in Lynchburg - don't go there). I went to undergrad at UVA, and although it was only 25 miles from my hometown, intellectually and demographically it might as well have been across the country. I would also say that it is the 21st century, so I don't think things are quite as bad as they used to be. You'll also find that while country folk have a reputation for being reflexively hostile to outsiders, they treat one another far better than most people who live in cities or the suburbs, and are on-the-whole welcoming towards people who are friendly and trustworthy.
As an intelligent, family-oriented human being, personally I would love to see you move there, because the only way many people will lose their prejudices is by seeing people face-to-face that don't conform to their preconceived notions. I think it would be a learning experience for you as well - I got out of my comfort zone moving to a big city, and I recommend living experiences in a variety of locations. I highly recommend a visit so you can see the campus, town and surrounding countryside for yourself instead of relying upon the wave of stereotyped responses that this post will most likely generate. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me.