The "Southern Strategy" originally referred to the 68 campaign that went after the votes in the Outer South - areas that went for LBJ before voting for Nixon - and was about tapping into opposition to cultural liberalism and federal intrusion broadly, not just on racial issues.
Federal intrusion was largely about racial issues.
A lot of these areas had a very small if any black population. Racial issues was the most obvious example of federal intrusion, but there was a symbolic and cultural resonance beyond that. These places hated Yankee liberals a heck of a lot more than they hated blacks.
I appreciate how difficult it is, as someone from a different generation who has ethical values that are incompatible with racism, to acknowledge this recent history within your party.