I’m not prepared to say whether African-Americans as a group love Wagner or not. (Although a very prominent African-American bass at the Met did a widely- acclaimed portrayal of Alberich in Das Rhinegold a couple of years ago and is now preparing to sing Wotan.)
As for Afro hair styles in the audience, I guess it comes down to Groucho Marx’s quip - should I believe my “own lying eyes”? (I have subscriptions to the Met, the NY Phil, and the NYC Ballet and I see what I see.)
Well, I have had up until last Nov. a subscription to ABT for years and am a regular patron at the Met and no, I’m not aware of all these African-Americans you see soaking up the kulcha. And that’s too bad.
Of course, there are black people on stage. What has that got to do with it?