While I like the new player sprites, I kinda feel your statement that its the "projects greatest failing" is a vast overstatement. As a black person, I didn't even notice the race thing in game, and quite frankly didn't care.( Not to say you shouldn't add the player sprites, that girl looks friggen awesome.) But most black people don't care throughout their lives as much as you did in that one post.
Also:
It's called monkey see, monkey do, or Unoriginal-as-fuck-ism, people act like what they see, and its often easier to act like someone who looks like you too. If the lead monkey's a moron, the followers turn out the same.(Like those kids outside my place after school talking all that yoloswag nonsense, go back in that school and learn some real words dammit.)
The crap rappers do is because easy money, and low effort, its easier to make a cookie cutter rap song with no content, than to come up with original content and expect to get paid. Brain dead consumers then consume without asking for quality, so, boom, shotty rap is what they get, rather than the stuff that USED to come out, with content.
Dude, don't stick up for Disney, at least not old Disney, they had more issues in more places than most people have molecules in their bodies. Old Disney was racist, sexist,and perverted - and all out in the open with all of it. I wouldn't be shocked if they DID only look at black people for the Hyenas, seems right up their alley for that time period. Granted they don't do that now (not to my knowledge anyway), but they have a history with that kinda thing, and worse.
Finally, my opinion on Arclight's sprite. I dun like his hair. Sorry, I've never felt black people can pull off any shade of yellow, and he ain't changin' my opinion on the matter a lick. Love his outfit tho. The player sprites are made of badass, does that option to change also include an option to change gender? I wanna replace the save files with male sprites to the new girl, I love it.