What could happen to a young black boy walking the Michigan streets in the middle of the night doing the 1930s in Bud not Buddy?

In the book "Bud, Not Buddy" by Christopher Paul Curtis, a young black boy walking the Michigan streets in the middle of the night during the 1930s could face dangers such as encountering racial discrimination, police brutality, or being mistaken for a criminal due to prevailing racist attitudes and segregation laws of the time. It was a period marked by high levels of racial tension and violence against African Americans.