I grew up reading Tolkien. "The Hobbit" was the first book read to me and I have reread it numerous times since. There are aspects of Tolkien's storytelling and worldbuilding I enjoy.

But there is no question his depiction of orcs, dwarves, and other races are inherently racist.

By his own admission, Tolkien based his depictions of them off of cultures in our world that he found distasteful. D&D continued those depictions, so yes, D&D continues to be racist. If you build your house from bricks, it's a brick house. If you build your game from racism...