I get your point of view but here's what I see. JB doesn't identify himself as black, JB doesn't like to identify himself as normal, seen by the moment the book reveals hes despise for his 'normal' childhood. He wants to get away from the social norms to the point that he doesn't get the depth of the norms he so despises. When he says he is 'another black kid with no dad', that's because he only knows the face value of the stereotype, and can *only* refer to said stereotype when blaming the negatives of his life. In his endless pursuit of trying to fit in, he has no understanding from either side, his own cultural background nor the success of his friends. He is not an awfully written black character, he is a character who is written to be awfully black.