For all we know based on the article, the people who wouldn't take him seriously were also black. The article puts the blame squarely on institutional infighting which has apparently been a problem for a very long time. Maybe that's actually the cause here.

Also - and slighly off topic - it's really amazing just how alive and well the old one-drop rule is. Alford is described as half-black, half-Filipino. But I gather most readers come away from the article thinking of him as black. I doubt anyone would come away from the article just calling him a Filipino. I'm biracial myself, so I always find this interesting.