It's not just America. In South Africa as well, right now. Almost every form and application asks for race on some level. One of the big reasons is because they've got a big push atm to suppress over-representation of minority groups in terms of company ownership and employment. One of the top groups that they are targeting are the native White minority.

Edit. Added link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad-Based_Black_Economic_Emp...