I had mostly the same experience as you, race was only really talked about during annual training sessions. I think the obsession with race in 'progressive' fi

I had mostly the same experience as you, race was only really talked about during annual training sessions. I think the obsession with race in 'progressive' fields and communities comes from the current college atmosphere. My wife started teaching English 101 at a college this year, and the curriculum she got from the school is very focused on race. It's supposed to be an introductory English class, but all the assignments are about gentrification, racial identity, etc. The first day of class she was supposed to show them a video of a black girl doing free-form poetry where she talks about how white people are holding her down because of how she talks. The department head said they give them these "spicy" topics to write about so they'll be more interested in the class. It seems like professors and students look back on the individuals fighting for civil rights and decided that they want to fight for something, so they've become hyper focused on race.