Yeah, it’s almost cultural appropriation (sub-cultural appropriation?) - the character was iconic and - at least in late-80s/early-90s Chicagoland - widely imitated. A generation of ankh-wearing goth girls are having their past wiped away. You could still cast the entire show by standing outside The Exit after midnight.
Re. MrDribble’s counter: yeah, it was established that the Endless look different to everyone based on cultural preferences and personal biases, and I’d be cool with them playing with that occasionally, but if we’re not doing it for Dream all the time, why Death?
In reality, it’s a marketing/messaging play. If you want a person of color in the Endless, Death is the most palatable after Dream himself. Desire (greedy), Despair (miserable), and Delirium (junkie or nutjob) have negative connotations; if one of them is black, the question becomes why that character? What’s the subtext? Whereas with did the only worry is the obvious Black Death puns.