I highly doubt that people like Tim Scott or Clarence Thomas would dedicate their lives to pushing those beliefs just because they want some airtime, but then again, stranger things have happened.

I did canvass with New Georgia Project the last two weeks in primarily Black neighborhoods in Savannah, Georgia and asked the question (among others) about what issues are important to you and your community. Very very few said racial justice. A lot of it was jobs, economy, and education. I suspect that white Democrats overestimate the degree to which identity politics factors into black people's thoughts because they're in love with being white allies.