Yeah same, I make noise to be less “I’m being sneaky” because I’m not trying to be. It never occurred to me this could be taken as “I’m trying to start a conversation, while not being in your field of view at all and also not saying any words.” I don’t do this when walking with my wife.

Look instead for the reported causes. The effect “is sundown town or not” might be difficult to conclusively prove or disprove. The causes are sometimes documented though.

Unfortunately true. It’s disturbing to see the non-policy-related causes from that page:

Police discrimination (a crime)

Vandalism (a crime)

Discriminatory housing practices (currently a crime)

Gentrification (a market effect)

Supplemented with actual policy change. They don’t need the help.

In this age of ubiquitous phone cameras and instant social judgement, I look forward to the backlash as racists reveal themselves.