Why are Americans so obsessed with race?

I'm a british guy in my 20s, of punjabi ethnicity. 3rd generation

My question might seem hypocritical as much of my recent post history has been race obsessed, but my identity is something I'm becoming more conscious about now

Never had much issue with racism in the UK, people treat me like just another guy. When I visited America a few years ag, I found that while people were friendly, the white people I came across seemed a bit race obsessed

Asking loads of questions about my race, saying they'd never seen an indian so tall (I'm only 6'2 so tall but not standout tall) and usually I'd get stares when I went certain places (mostly places that were very white)

While I can't fault this as 'racism', as most people seemed nice, I did feel a bit 'othered'. In the UK, I'm treated like just another regular guy. This wasn't the case in the US