Maggiebee was being a bit dim - if there was a room full of white blokes and I needed to point out the black bloke I would say "the black bloke". Nothing remotely wrong with that.
Trouble is people tread on eggshells, and I just don't get that. Black people are not offended at being described as black anymore than I am offended as being described as white.
I do however cringe at 'coloured' and 'half-caste'. My 80 year old FIL says 'darkie'. I've tried, I really have, but what's the point in trying to re-educate an 80 year old.
Of course the huge irony of all of this, and I'm prepared to accept Amber Rudd (who had a relationship with a black bloke) was a bit clumsy, was talking about somebody who, without a single shadow of a doubt, is a total racist (paraphrasing, all white people are colonialists - that is incredibly racist).