"only happens in the US"? Oh dear, I do wish that were true... but I dare say that a in France might disagree with you, or a Pakistani in Britain or a Turk in Germany...
My experience is that "race" as a concept is hardly ever used in Europe. We talk about different cultural backgrounds, nationalities or different religious groups, but not race. This does not mean that there's no discrimination against minorities/immigrants, I was just referrring to the unscientific and outdated concept of "race" that is still widely used in US.
The US does make a handy target, and we do have an unfortunate history of treating "races" (whether they be people of colour, the Irish, native americans, Japanese... doesn't matter). So do most other countries. The answer is to recognise prejudice where it occurs -- of whatever form and based on whatever criteria, both in one's self and in one's society -- and work to overcome it. That isn't easy.
I would be very surprised indeed if any one of us on this forum could honestly say that he or she is not prejudiced (biased) against some other group or groups -- unless they happen to be Jesus ben Joseph, late of Nazareth. To hide under the argument that the bias is not based on colour or race is fooling one's self. As I said before, the trick is to recognise one's own biases, and then guard against them.
I have never felt so alien being the only "white" person in a place/situation as I did in the US. It was completely different to anything I had experienced elsewhere and the "natives" seemed to think it as something completely normal. I found it strange so it encouraged made me study the subject a bit deeper.
Try being an American Indian in, say, Birmingham, UK... it's scary.
Of course we are all biased. But what you don't seem to understand that thinking about "race" or "colour" is something that is very much ingrained in the US culture and learned already as a child in a way that does not happen in many other countries. This is just an observation (and a view that is shared by US scientists as well), I am not trying to bash the US people. The discourse is different from our point of view, even though the basic issues about equality are the same.
Oh yes, there's racism in Europe too. There's a slight difference though. The race is usually more an excuse than the real issue. Any group that is different will do as the enemy. These problems concentrate on the areas with lots of social and economic challenges.
Try going to India or Japan. I've been to both and never felt so strange. In Japan, within 6 hours of walking off the plane I got approached by a group of Japanese schoolgirls that wanted to take a picture with me. I was the first white person they had see in 16ish years. BTW, they actually did the peace sign and jumped in the air, I giggled. When I was in India, I literally got poked because they thought I was fake.
Personally, I believe "racism" is generally "class-ism" in the US. Don't get me wrong, racism definitely exists. But when I walk through Harlem wearing jeans and a hoodie I don't get stared at even though I'm the only white person. If I walk through in my khaki's, boat shoes, button down, a half zip sweater with my hair parted, you can bet your ass everyone is staring at me.
Here's what the Virginia state board of education actually did. It looked at students' test scores in reading and math and then proposed new passing rates. In math it set an acceptable passing rate at 82 percent for Asian students, 68 percent for whites, 52 percent for Latinos, 45 percent for blacks and 33 percent for kids with disabilities.