»What is the role of race in the matrix?«

How do you guys feel about the races of the characters in the matrix movies? What I mean is did race correspond with wheather or not the character was good or evil.
Check out this list that I got from the mex board of actors that turned down roles for the matrix.

Trivia: Actors not playing:

Will Smith
(turned down the role while Keanu Reeves turned down a role in 'Men In Black') as Neo
Ewan McGregor
(turned down) as Neo
Jada Pinkett Smith
(finally plays Niobe aka Niobi) as Trinity
(finally played by Carrie-Anne Moss)
Val Kilmer as Morpheus
(finally played by Laurence Fishburne)
Sean Connery
(really?) as Morpheus
Aaliyah (singer, died)
Eva Mendes
Samantha Mumba (sings, too)
Brandy (sings, too)
Tatyana Ali (sings, too) as Zee (the woman of Link)
(finally played by Nona M. Gaye, daughter of Marvin Gaye
When Aaliyah was killed August 2001 in a plane crash, she had completed the initial shooting for Matrix 2)
Jet Li as Seraph
(turned down, because too many action stars are crammed into 1 movie)

One that pops out is Will Smith as Neo. How do you think the role would have been affected and does this add further evdence to the theory that race corresponed to the nature of the characters?

"I personally love the idea of a movie where blacks and Asians are the clever ones, the bringers of progress and the fighters for freedom. This makes the movie more special than it already is. Here are a few examples of 'White contra Black':

The antagonists (=opponents) of Neo are white:
The agents, especially Smith
The Merovingian
Cypher. Typically enough in Matrix 1 he wants to get back into the Matrix
Bane (possessed/infected by Smith) is white
Cain and Abel
The superwhite albino twins (Twin One and Twin Two)
Sparks, the Matrix operator of the 'Logos' always complains
The Architect is white.
Marginal note: The actor Helmut Bakaitis was born in Germany. If one doesn't believe 'Whites are evil' then at least one is acknowledged that the 'Germans are bad ass'. At least in movies.
In Matrix 1 Neo and Morpheus enter a training program (with the woman in the red dress).
Morpheus: "What do you see?... The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system, and that makes them our enemy... If you are not one of us, you are one of them."
There are only white persons visible (except Morpheus).
Choi is white (the boy-friend of the girl with the white rabbit tattoo):
Choi: "Hallelujah. You're my savior, man. My own personal Jesus Christ."
Neo: You get caught using that...
Choi: Yeah, I know. This never happened. You don't exist."
Neo: "You ever have that feeling where you're not sure if you're awake or still dreaming?"
Choi: "Mm, all the time. It's called Mescaline. It's the only way to fly."
On the other hand he says:

Neo: "You ever have that feeling where you're not sure if you're awake or still dreaming?"
Choi: "...Hey, it just sounds to me like you need to unplug, man."
However, I agree, not every black/Asian is good and not every white is bad. Is the white rabbit [Matrix 1] good or bad? Are the white Zion operators bad?

When Neo exits the elevator in Zion the crowd that is waiting for him is mostly black/Asian.
The heroes (Neo, Morpheus...) are running around dressed black (however, the Agents do too)
Does anyone of of the main players not have black/dark hair?
The rave party (an excellent 3 minutes scene) is mostly blacks/Asians only dancing to tribal beats.
The Wachowski brothers wanted even Neo to be black: The Chicago Sun Times reported (01.Jul.2002) that Will Smith (black) was one of the candidates for Neo's leading role. Smith refused, his wife 'Jada Pinkett Smith' plays 'Niobe'.
Fun with names: Will Smith-Agent Smith.
Please see the (small) section Trivia about who turned down role offers.
Keanu Reeves' father is half Hawaiian, half Chinese. Keanu's mother is English. Keanu Reeves was born in Beirut, Lebanon (a country in Asia).
The actor 'Hugo Weaving' (Agent Smith) was born in Nigeria (Africa).
Animatrix's episode "Final flight of the Osiris" features mainly blacks and Asians.
Animatrix's episodes use a Japanese manga/ anime style.
The letters of the Matrix are Japanese-like
The fighting is Kung-Fu (Asian martial arts) style with samurai weapons." - Mex