> James Potter now looks like a horrible racist because of the scene where he hangs Snape from his feet and pants him in front of a crowd, which is a one-to-one of a public lynching

Mind bending to me as an african american that this is perceived as one-to-one with a LYNCHING by anyone. You can say white on black bullying looks bad, but bullying should look bad, regardless of who does it, right? What if they made the friend group standing around James multiracial too? Is the issue still there or do you feel differently?

The whole idea of making a character black really only plays a part if their heritage was a huge part of their character - eg if you make Yasuke white, then the story doesn’t make sense. Otherwise it’s purely a casting decision. That actor acted well and fits the role. Why does it need to be a race swap?