Because African Americans do not know their own history.

Slavery cut them off from thier past, beyond 300 years ago only the lucky few will have hope of ever knowing where in the great tapestry of peoples that comprise the giant of africa they would find the bones of thier ancestors.

They are a people of diverse and uncertain origin, they have no ancient folk tale, no myth of origin or legend of greatness but the need for such things gnaw at the soul like hunger tears the gut.

"We were kings"

The need is such that they will attempt to adopt the history of others as thier own just to fill the hole. Netflix is just cashing in on that spiritual crisis.

I think part of the reason they do not gravitate to the kings of subsaharan africa, Mansa Musa, Shaka Zulu, the Kongo Kings is because they are not the kings of africans but of specific peoples who would likely balk at seeing as kin the sheer grabbag of peoples that comprises the African Americans.