I lived for the first 32 yrs of my life, up North, in Chicago...then we moved to North Carolina, and lived there for 5yrs...
I saw racist attitudes, in both the South and the North...I agree with you, it was slightly differing, one area from the other, but the attitude was there....
Only foolish people claim there was no racism in the North. Even more foolish ones claim there was none in the South.
I experienced both regions and there is no doubt that Blacks were better off going North since the institutional impediments were less there. Plus, in the North the racism was much less intense without the hatred of the South. There were few, if any, Northern politicians who openly campaigned on Black hatred. In the South there were few who DIDN'T.