Keep in mind that the 10 black people in a city of 30k are probably tired of having interactions and remarks centering on their skin color, even if they're not negative.
Well, it was via a telephone call and they made a point of bring it up. So I was "Oh, you're black." literally just shocked. I commented on the conference because I was at a conference and he was meant to be there but couldn't be so we chatted on the phone.
It's the same as being surprised that the CEO of a large company is a woman. That in itself is not sexist but shows that something's wrong with society.
Having "10 black people in my town of 30,000 people" is not a failure of any system.
She was a classmate and we hung out a bit. I bothered her with sooo many questions. I think today it would probably be unacceptable, but this was the 80's so a different age. And I was so curious about what being black was like (and no internet to satisfy that curiosity without asking an actual black person).
Of course this is the perfect example of our society today, where if you try and see racism sexism everywhere, you’ll see it. Even if it’s not actually there
Honestly, I think some people just want to be a victim in some way. Gives them an excuse as to why things aren't going there way.