"Contrary to conventional wisdom, Mr. Coates argues, most Americans aren't afraid of the stereotype of black criminality or recklessness. What scares them is the high-achieving, exceptional black population"

Are you kidding me? That is the most absurd statement I have read in some time. 

I think we can exclude the vast majority of well-educated successful individuals in the US (who actually have visibility into high-achieving professional roles) from those who are "worried about the blacks." You can't see the c-suite from the trailer park. This journalist has clearly missed the mark on the "boogey-man" he is trying to frame. 

I don't think attitudes in NYC or Boston are that different from Toronto.