I hear this kind of stuff in sports broadcasts from white announcers, too, especially if the color commentator (who is usually an athlete) is white and there's nobody there to hit the announcer on the back of the head.

It usually goes something like this: "And he's VERY articulate." The surprise is palpable.

Maybe I don't hear this as often as I used to, but I know it still happens. It used to happen all the time.