I'm having a hard time understanding the outrage and fallout with this one, especially in the context of all the other things we should certainly be addressing.
Advertising by its very nature is dependent upon identifying and targeting "types of people".
I see what he said, and understand that anytime an old white guy says "black" the microscope comes out, but what I "hear" in the words is "Hey, Motel 6 caters to rural rednecks and this might be focusing too much on African Americans."
If you run that thought through an old white guy's brain (especially one who's been watching the news and has the white supremacy lingo bouncing around in his mind), it comes out of his mouth as "this commercial is too black to appeal to Motel 6's white supremacist clientele."
Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd be one to tap the brakes here before I storm the gates with pitchforks.
Without further context, this seems to be a poor choice of words for use in 2020, but might not merit tarnishing an entire career.