In this case, I don't think they're being dishonest, just delusional. The magical negro stopped being a character trope, and became an actual spiritual role that blacks occupy in society. The cliche is something base, while blackness (and everything they believe it grants) is sublime. It wouldn't even occur to them to compare the two.

In this case, I don't think they're being dishonest, just delusional. The magical negro stopped being a character trope (where, being fictional, it can be isolated and recognized), and became an actual spiritual role that blacks occupy in society. The cliche is something base, while blackness (and everything they believe it grants) is sublime. It wouldn't even occur to them to compare the two.