The days of that Booker T. Washington mentality are over. The statement is ridiculous on its face. But when we are initially approached in this way, the walls that divide us continue to grow. Stereotypes dehumanize people so we relate to one another as caricatures instead of human beings. There are many ways to approach folk who are different without initially and awkwardly commenting on those differences.
Differences have no intrinsic value.
They are neither good nor bad, they just are. As my late grandmother Lizzie used to say, the weather is always a safe topic of conversation and if that goes well, you can move on to another subject area.