Hi Kevin — I don’t think it is racial to consider ethnicity and different races when designing. For example, in the late 20th century, there were many relief efforts in apartheid Africa. Some of these efforts required photographs of refugees for passports and documentation. The photographic color card used at the time did not allow the appropriate exposure for darker skin colors. They were designed for fair skin. Another example are automatic hand-washing dispensers that do not recognize darker skin.

This paragraph is really urging us to think beyond “average” — which means considering gender, age, physical ability, ethnicity and race.