https://southpark.fandom.com/wiki/The_Big_Fix
Maybe someone who is more hip and with-it can explain it for me, if there is a joke at all. In the episode it is revealed that Token's name was always Tolkien because his dad liked Tolkien's books. Apparently everyone but Stan knew that.
Stan feels bad for being "racist" so he tries to help Token/Tolkien by making LotR required reading at school. The reveal is that Token/Tolkien hates the nerdy Tolkien stuff. This is obviously a dig at SJWs for misguided activism but at the same time forgives them for being "sincere".
There is a Dr character directly lecturing the viewers that if they thought the name was Token that they are horrible racists, that may be the writers apologizing for the original joke?
The meta joke, imo, is that with the reveal Token's name is being changed everywhere, including the wiki article I linked, 1984 Ministry of Truth style. And that is funny in a nihilistic, laugh at the burning world, kind of way.
The B plot of Randy needing a black business partner to show "equity" so he takes on Token's dad as a literal black token is more straightforward.
Most things they write are like that, a half-critic and sometimes they miss the point entirely, there was one about girls getting in to guys hobbies that pissed me off.
I still think they are funny because they can still make fun of leftism and get away with it. That being said I think you are correct, they want to move away from Token because of possible blowback and at the same time make fun of leftist activism and forced tokenism.
You know you're talking about South Park, right?
The show that won’t show Mohammed and pulled the episodes with him in it? That was, oh, a decade ago, they haven’t gotten better.
I want you to think of all the counterculture "not afraid of backlash" icons that have bowed to the woke in the last few years and ask why South Park would be immune.
If there's one lesson people should have learned in the past 10 years it's "everyone has sacred cows"