I think it wasn't what the group was and more what it wasn't: she no longer had to deal with having to laugh along with sexist and racist jokes, and all the rest of the issues she wrote about in the post. That's how I interpreted it anyway.
If she had phrased it in a way that acknowledged that being in the majority was more comfortable, I would have had no problem with it. What bothered me was that she referred to the situation of being with a bunch of people like her as "diversity lightning" and similar. No, she didn't have to worry about how to conform, but that's because she was already naturally conformant. While possible, I somehow doubt that the black majority at that company spends a whole ton of time making sure that the non-blacks don't feel uncomfortable in the way that she did elsewhere.
The reality is that yes, people are going to feel more comfortable with people who are like them. I don't see that changing any time soon, and I don't fault her for that feeling of relief. But it's disingenuous at best to say "there need to be more black people for me to identify with" is the solution, or even a solution, for how to deal with diversity. The average group of 10 Americans will have one black person and six non-Latino whites. It's understandable for that situation to make you uncomfortable, just as I'd probably be at least mildly uncomfortable on a team with six blacks, a Chinese person, an Indian, and a Hispanic. I'm open to suggestions to make it easier, but if the simple state of being in a minority is all it takes, I really don't know what to do.
"I could relate to my teammates without having to conform. I didn’t have to be anything different than who I was and I flourished there."
No, she wasn't "naturally conformant", saying she was is a bit of racism on your part.
In the very next paragraph:
"After The Home Depot, I took a position at a lottery/parimutuel company. I returned to being the only black woman, but the team there wasn’t very close knit so everybody did their own thing, did their job, and went home."
It makes it clear that the issue is not a lack of racial homogeneity, but racism, especially when combined with a cliquish work environment.
With the above quote, the author directly refutes your claim that "the simple state of being in a minority is all it takes".
The author does not say "there need to be more black people for me to identify with", but consistently says "My industry needs to change to make everyone feel included and accepted."
