I hope this is not too stupid of a question, if it is I already apologize in advance.
Basically my girlfriend and I who are from Germany are planning to travel to the USA. We were hearing stuff that some Americans socially divide people by their ethnicity. I just wanted to ask online whether this is true and if there could be any concerns because my skin is very bright and my girlfriends skin is very dark.
Normally we never really cared or talked about this since at least in our community (where we are from) no one makes a thing out of it and we both just identify as German. But I heard that in some procedures in America you have to say what your ethnicity is? We even heard things like that in some places they divide people by “skin color” and base different cultures on that (we noticed that people from America even speak and behave differently based on whether they identify as “black” or “white”) and even have schools for primarily people with dark skin or so. And this concept is very new to us since our skin was never any topic for us and we are somewhat insecure that someone could say something since we look so different and are a couple and we don’t know if this could be “weird” for some Americans?
I assume that’s probably not the case and I’m somewhat misinformed, which is why we just want to make sure there isn’t anything that we have to know or potentially have to be concerned about.
Unfortunately it is true, but it’s not everywhere. Generally speaking, the larger the population of an area, the less likely you’ll experience hostility. Coastal cities with large populations are highly unlikely to give you trouble. Rural aeas with lower populations have a higher chance of giving you trouble.
Yes, segregation was a dark chapter in America’s history. Officially, segregation was outlawed, but unofficially it still happens in some areas. Some of the conservative regions are trying to go back to the days of segregation and slavery. They create laws that aren’t specifically racist, but still have that effect.
As to different cultures, we have a lot of them. Most of the country speaks English, but we have a lot of different accents that seem like a different language entirely.
I dont know German, but I would draw a parallel to various English accents in the UK. Irish, Scottish, Cockney, Geordie, and so on.
As to the way white and black people talk, I suspect it has more to do with wealth and social class rather than race. Poor white people and poor black people tend to socially isolate from one another, creating distinct accents. But it’s not uncommon for intermingling.
I have a coworker who grew up in a poor black neighborhood and he has a “black accent” (for lack of a better term). If your only interaction with him is on the phone, it would be easy to assume he’s black.