Is it perceived as 'racist' to ask a question or tell of a specific incident or cultural trait when understanding the race gives clearer understanding ?

If I were to ask a legitimate question, “Why are so many black people on disability?’ —some might counter that the statement is racist. Or note that there are a lot of white people also on disability.

But someone I know who is an advocate for the disabled, and is disabled herself, explained that African Americans rarely can get good neonatal care. Mentioning race, in this instance, explains the problem African Americans face getting good health care or education or other societal issues.

In another incident, I might tell a funny story of when I was buying sunflower seeds for the birds. The black man who helped me find it at Walmart said, “You mean you WANT more birds in yo yard?” That might sound racist. But the truth is, black people can say things with more (what in Yiddish would be called) “hutzvah”—
stronger and funnier than a white boy sales clerk would say it.

Blacks, whites, Asians, Hispanics, Italians, many others, all have ways of saying things. That’s why you probably made a choice to watch Fonzie on Happy Days or JJ on Good Times. or Archie Bunker on All in the Family—in the ‘70s.

In a third case, writers used to write dialogue phonetically if it was pertinent to the speaker and his / her culture. If a man in the old south would say in that bold sing-song voice, “Steam Boat A’Commin…” It helps if we can visualize a black man rather than a Burl Ives or Tom Hanks.

In a fourth case—I may quote a minister at a certain First Congregational Church. It may mean something else to you, or you might understand the context better, if I state that the minister is a black lesbian, who is pastor of a well-educated, liberal, mostly white congregation, because it helps you to understand the context and it is not from a typical white guy you visualize when yo think of a minister.

There’s more behind it if you understand who its coming from and what their experiences might be.

Do we assume most mentionings of race are racist, or do they help explain what is being told or asked better?