Very common phenomenon for all of us...

I don't know.  My daughter was in Babes in Toyland at the Apollo Theater that is right in that area. Maybe because I tend to live in my own little bubble, but I didn't notice anyone staring at me when I was walking around that area.  I think a lot of people are just overly self conscious.  My son went to UCF for film.  He was the cameraman for a group of kids doing a documentary on black racism.  He was the only white kid in the group.  They went to a traditional black college to interview some of the faculty and he told me later that he felt that people were staring at him because he was the only white guy on the campus.  I said - well maybe they were all staring at you because you had a huge camera on your shoulder.  And he laughed and said he didn't think of it like that.

Why the shame?  Rough urban neighborhoods are often dangerous even for the people who call them home.  You always have to keep your guard up in the city.  This is common sense.  There is a difference between assuming that every black person wants to hurt you because you think they are all criminals and being cautious in a strange neighborhood. Not all fear of unknown people of color is evidence of bigotry.  For the record, I find groups of white teens hanging out in parking lots equally unnerving.  This is just the reality of being a woman.