what made white slave owners worried about free african americans living in the south, and what stereotypes did this disprove

White slave owners were worried about retribution from former slaves.

Explanation:

The slave owners understood that the plight they have put their slaves through will not come back to them kindly if the slaves were to live near them in any way.

They understood this well that some of the slaves could come out seeking vengeance from them in any form as they saw.

The rampant racism also led to this paranoia that they simply did not want to be around freed black people.

This led to the stereotype of the wild black man out to destroy white property, stealing their food and wealth and soiling their women.