That is a way of looking at it. Another perspective is that any attempt to deify a real human being is bound to be nonsensical, and we should always be wary of the complex human nature behind a carefully constructed "public figure".

At least hopefully nobody will somehow look at this as an excuse for their own racist agenda (i.e. look, such a greatly respected person has also been so racist, why can't I?). The simplistic attempt to instill one-dimensional interpretations of personalities in the public consciousness has to stop, and hopefully both the educational institutions and the media can always remind people of the complexities of every individual. Though this seems to be a tall order at least for now.