The Ethicist – Not Pictured – African-American Customers

I am a consultant on the redesign of the Web site of a company with local franchises across the United States. A franchisee in San Diego mentioned that posting a generic picture of an African-American customer could deter potential business. He has never had an African-American client nor does he anticipate one. His clientele is 70 percent white, 29 percent Hispanic and 1 percent Asian. Each local office will have a Web page and could have its own generic customer photo. May race be a factor in choosing it?