The complicated irony of identity politics is that they hew close to right wing racial essentialism, a fact that is generally lost on their proponents. I’m sure the irony of being angry that more black people weren’t included in writing the orc adventure will be similarly missed.

The complaint: “orcs are written using language historically used to disparage black people.”

The evolution: “therefore, black people should write the orcs.”

To make that leap, it seems you have to believe that orcs -are- fantasy black people.

That’s really weird, folks.

It’s one thing to say, “orcs were written as racial caricatures, or as analogs steeped in racist othering.” But to then say, “and therefore, they need to be rehabilitated by the people they caricatured.” it seems to imply that you accepted the proposal of the racist caricature.

“Orcs are savages to be killed or conquered, like black people.”
“No, they have all the humanity of black people.”

No, see, the lie in the proposal is that black people are savages. If you don’t believe that, then orcs aren’t black people.

The critique that traditional depictions of orcs mimic racist colonial language still stands. I just don’t see how to make the leap to, “therefore....” without implying some bizarre beliefs. Asking black writers to rehabilitate orcs is asking them to clean up white writers’ mess