Anger over the Casting of The Rock as John Henry Shows the Persistence of Racial Purity Ideology

Critics of the Rock being cast to play John Henry would tell us they are motivated by good intentions: They want social justice for dark-skinned blacks. They might defend their racial evaluations claiming that, unlike the Nazis, it serves good purposes. Yet, underlying their criticisms of Johnson, it sounds like they believe there is an ideal black man that needs safeguarding from those of mixed blood.