One good thing, that came out of a lot of fail and drama, was the message put forth by writers and readers of color:
"We don't want writers (of any race) to say 'if everyone's going to be mean to me if I write about race, I'm taking my keyboard and going home.' We DO want writers to stop, look, listen, and ask questions, and, if unavoidable, learn from mistakes they might make in writing about a culture or color different from their own." You have to expect to make mistakes in a craft, and it's a learning experience.