I’ve been accosted and punched by “teens” in Ithaca, NY; Columbus, OH; Cleveland, OH; and Palo Alto, CA. First “teen” encounter was when I was 13 in a movie theater in Ithaca — wheeled around and sucker punched in the face. Thank God I’ve never been seriously hurt. Each incident heightens your situational awareness a lot. Hasn’t happened in about the last 30 years because I generally know where to not go...starting with MLK Blvd.
Wow, same ones following you around? Kidding aside, that's terrible. I've had my run-ins with blacks when I was younger, getting punched and beat up in SF. Like you, my situational awareness expanded. Plus I learned some martial arts. As for my daughter and son-in-law in Des Moines, they live less than a mile from MLK. When visiting, I know not to turn onto MLK because white faces quickly turn to black faces. Every city has it's MLK street/road/blvd/hwy - each with problems.
MLK Jr.'s greatest contribution to mankind:
Giving his name to streets in the worst neighborhoods in America so decent people can be forewarned it is an area to stay away from.