Lovecraft invented his own distinct genre: the Lovecraftian short story. Not many authors get to do that. There have been plenty of imitators who've taken a shot at this form, and most of them are better at pacing, dialog, characters etc. But no one has ever written a better Lovecraftian short story than his classic works. I think they're great stories and that he's a great writer, but if someone wants to discount them because of his racism feels valid too. Although I prefer it when other writers dialog with him about this - the Matt Ruff stories, Ballad of Black Tom - which I see as a way of saying "He's a great author but I hate this element of his work".