What always seemed odd to me was that I never felt stared at in the U.P. The few times I have felt stared at and outright hostility were during our driving trips, specifically in Oklahoma and southern Illinois.
I do find, though, that if we go to a restaurant twice, the wait staff remembers us the third time!
Hah! And not just at restaurants either, so it's not just that I'm a good tipper! I guess we sort of stand out in a crowd. 
I'm not surprised. There are so few black people in the UP that the locals kind of view them with a sense of curiousity. They also don't have deep seated prejudices or guilt either.
All in all a pretty healthy approach toward taking people as they come. Funny thing is a lot of outsiders view yoopers (residents of the UP or upper penninsula of Michigan) as backwoods hicks and rednecks. I ran into that and racism when I went south to college.
Oh well, I'm from the UP and proud of it.
Re:
What always seemed odd to me was that I never felt stared at in the U.P. The few times I have felt stared at and outright hostility were during our driving trips, specifically in Oklahoma and southern Illinois.