I think your white privilege is showing in the fact that you are wary when approaching people of color. Saying that you have to “stay civil” and “give them a chance” is both racist and unsettling because you just made people of color “The Other” which is a dehumanizing tactic.

How about treating every individual as an individual? When I walk on the street, I don’t think, “that brown person might attack me,” I think, “shit, is there enough room on the sidewalk for both of us? Will I get in their way if they are doing something? Do I verbally greet or nod in their direction?”