Racist NPC's in Games?

I'm a recent subscriber to the PBS "GameShow" channel on YouTube where they discuss game related issues.  Usually the issues discussed are of a more thoughtful nature and have intrigued me.  One of the recent shows pondered the fact that some NPC's in games seem to be racist in nature.  I hope that studios don't intentionally set out to create characters who are intentionally racist, but have to wonder about some of the decisions they make about characters in games.  You should watch the video to see which games they analyze.  They might not be games you'd really think about.  Here's the video.

Now, there are definitely arguments for and against this issue.  Sure, Resident Evil 5 was set in Africa, so it does sort of make sense that the zombies were Africans.  But did they have to be spear-chucking tribal types?  I had also forgotten about the Letisha character from Deus Ex--that part always made me cringe and wonder why someone didn't think to themselves "Guys, don't you think this character might be a little stereotypical?"  I'm not so sure about the Zelda comparison.  I've never played any Legend of Zelda game and gotten a sense of innate racism--but do have to agree with the fact that it seems to be a pattern in most games that protagonists are generally white while the "bad guys" tend to be of a darker hue.

For me this episode didn't really make me want to throw out my copy of Resident Evil 5 or Deus Ex, but it did make me think about my own choices in video games.  I can't think of very many games where the protagonist wasn't white.  Sure, there are a few, but not very many.  It also got me thinking about my own choices when given the ability to create a character for a game. Let's say a game like Dragon Age:  Inquisition that has a very detailed character creation tool.  Never have I chosen to make a character that isn't white.  Sure, I've made some racially ambiguous Commander Shepards (I believe the future will involve a larger mix of racial backgrounds) but I've never opted to make a black character.  Am I racist?  Or am I just unwilling to push myself outside of my comfort zone?  I'd like to think it's simply because I'm trying to mirror my own background, but maybe it is much more complicated than that.  You might even be thinking to yourself, "Why does this even matter?"  To me it matters and I think it says something that I haven't ever created a black character.