Now, don't get me wrong: I'm not defending racism. In fact, I hate Chuggaaconroy's guts for his bigotry and I want to seem him lynched.
That is not the purpose of this thread. The purpose is... i haven't really seen any evidence suggesting that the Stormcloak-controlled government of Eastmarch is, in fact, racist. I'm not saying that the people of Eastmarch, generally speaking, are not racist; I am only talking about the GOVERNMENT of Eastmarch.
First, I see plenty of Imperials (such as Viola) and Altmer (such as Niranye) who are treated fairly by the local population and the government of Eastmarch. Unlike the Dunmer and Argonians, however, these races actually give the Nords REASON to be racist towards them. The Empire just got through an extremely bloody war with Altmer like Niranye, and the Stormcloaks are currently in civil war with Imperials like Viola.
The segregation of Dunmer and Argonians appear, at first glance, to lack a justification, but dig a little deeper into Eastmarch's problems: Their police force is so thinly-stretched by the war, that they can't even competently investigate a serial killing! What makes you think they can adequately put down a race riot (remember, I conceded to the possibility that some of the general populace may be racist)? The best thing to do in such a case is separate the combustible elements in the first place.
In other words, how do we know Ulfric Stormcloak issued the segregation decrees out of his own hatred for those races, and not for their PROTECTION?!
Indeed, for every piece of so-called "evidence" is see in Eastmarch that the Stormcloak government is racist, I see just as much evidence to suggest that the Dunmer and Argonians are just playing the race card.
For example, Belyn Hlaalu pretty much states flat-out that his fellow Dunmer are a bunch of whiny, self-entitled, race-card-playing [censored]es.
Or how about... when you first enter Windhelm, Suvaris Atheron is shown being harassed by a couple of supposedly-racist Nords, who make three accusations toward her:
1. You come where you're not wanted,
2. Eat our food,
3. Pollute our city with your stink, and
4. YOUR REFUSE TO HELP THE STORMCLOAKS
Why is that fourth one in capital letters? Because it is the only one of those four accusations that Suvaris actually responded to: "We haven't chosen a side because it's not our fight."
Now... why did she only respond to that one accusation? Well, nothing in-game tells us flat-out, but I think it's because Suvaris knows, even if she won't admit to it out-loud, that the fourth accusation was the one those Nords truly cared about. They are so obsessed with independence from the Empire that, as far as they are concerned, there are no neutral parties to the war, as was demonstrated in the "Message to Whiterun" quest.
Speaking of which, that brings me to my next point: The fact that you can join the Stormcloaks regardless of your race shows that the Stormcloak army is an equal-opportunity employer. You could argue that this is gameplay being prioritized over lore, but then how do you explain the fact that Galmar acknowledges your race with in-game dialogue, yet that acknowledgement has no gameplay repercussions whatsoever? That is CERTAINLY lore over gameplay!
Speaking of Galmar, his lack of racism is further evidenced by the fact that, even if you're a Nord, he still makes you go and kill the ice wraith like everyone else. Clearly, Nords get no special treatment under him.
To that extent, I've seen more evidence that the Orc Strongholds are racist than the Stormcloak army. Again, is it gameplay over lore? I doubt it, because if the Orc Strongholds can let you in automatically if you're the right race, why can't Bethesda program the Stormcloaks to do the same?
So, in conclusion, is the Stormcloak army and the government of Eastmarch truly racist? Because I haven't seen any irrefutable evidence saying that they are.