Playing the race card is an idiomatic phrase that refers to the act of bringing the issue of race or
racismRacism is the belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. In the case of institutional racism, certain racial groups may be denied rights or benefits, or get preferential treatment...
into a debate, perhaps to obfuscate the matter. It is a metaphorical reference to card games in which a
trump cardA trump is a playing card which is elevated above its normal rank in trick-taking games. Typically an entire suit is nominated as a trump suit - these cards then outrank all cards of plain suits...
may be used to gain an advantage.
Usage
In the less critical sense, the phrase is commonly used in two contexts. In the first, and more common context, it alleges that someone has deliberately and falsely accused another person of being a racist in order to gain some sort of advantage. An example of this use of the term occurred during the O.J. Simpson criminal trial, when critics accused the defense of "playing the race card" in presenting
Mark FuhrmanMark Fuhrman is an American author, former talk radio host, former detective of the Los Angeles Police Department , and convicted felon, known for his part in the investigation of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman and his subsequent conviction for...
's racist past (e.g., his recorded use of the word "
niggerNigger is a pejorative term and common ethnic slur against black people, and is English slang. In denoting “black person”, nigger originated as a variant of the Spanish and Portuguese noun negro derived from the Latin adjective niger...
" in addition to his being accused of tampering with murder evidence in prior cases, as well as his use of the
Fifth AmendmentThe Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
to avoid potential self-incrimination upon questioning) as a reason to draw his credibility as a witness into question. Another example would be a criticism of
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state in the United States. One of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, it had been the last of the Thirteen Colonies to be established, in 1733. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January...
Representative
Cynthia McKinneyCynthia Ann McKinney is a U.S. politician and a member of the Green Party since 2007. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party nominated McKinney for President of the United States...
's assertion that she was the victim of "
racial profilingRacial profiling is the inclusion of racial or ethnic characteristics in determining whether a person is considered likely to commit a particular type of crime or an illegal act or to behave in a "predictable" manner. It is often confused with the more comprehensive Offender Profiling and has been...
" after she allegedly struck a
United States CapitolThe United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the Federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall. Though not in the geographic center of the District of...
police officer who had grabbed her at a security checkpoint. A more recent example would be criticism of
Yale UniversityYale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Yale has produced many notable alumni, including five...
student
Jian LiJian Li is a Chinese undergraduate student at Harvard University, having transferred from Yale University where he first studied. Li, who holds Chinese citizenship, is a US permanent resident, having immigrated with his family to the United States at age 4...
's formal complaint against
Princeton UniversityPrinceton University a private university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League and is considered one of the Colonial Colleges....
, which asserted that Princeton and other elite universities discriminate against Asian Americans while setting the admissions bar lower for other minorities, including African Americans and Hispanic Americans.
In the second context, it refers to someone exploiting
prejudiceA prejudice is a preconceived belief, opinion or judgment especially toward a group of people characterized by their race, social class, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or religion...
against another race for political or some other advantage. The use of the
southern strategyIn American politics, the Southern strategy refers to a purported Republican method of winning Southern states in the latter decades of the 20th century and first decade of the 21st century by exploiting opposition among the segregationist South to desegregation and Civil Rights, and the cultural...
by a political candidate is said by some to be a version of "playing the race card", such as when former Senator
Jesse HelmsJesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
, during his 1990
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
Senate campaign ran an ad showing a black man taking a white man's job, intended as a criticism of the idea of
racial quotasRacial quotas in employment and education are numerical requirements for hiring, promoting, admitting and/or graduating members of a particular racial group while discriminating against other racial groups. Racial quotas are often established after a political system gives legitimacy to the...
. The ad was interpreted by many people as trying to play to racist fears among white voters.
On the other hand, George Dei, Karumanchery, et alia, in their book
Playing the Race Card argue that the term itself is a
rhetorical deviceIn rhetoric, a rhetorical device or resource of language is a technique that an author or speaker uses to convey to the listener or reader a meaning with the goal of persuading the reader or listener towards considering a topic from a different perspective...
used in an effort to devalue and minimize claims of racism.
Playing the race card in Malaysia
In February 2008, Group Chief Editor Wong Chun Wai of
The StarThe Star is the leading English-language tabloid format newspaper in Malaysia. It is the largest in terms of circulation in Malaysia, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. It has a daily circulation of between 290,000 to 300,000...
wrote, just before the Malaysia general election came, there is an unusual degree of tolerance and flexibility in matters of race, language and religion as politicians try to woo the people. "Also, there are those who still continue to
play the race card, in this age and time. At their party conferences each year, they play to the gallery by projecting themselves as the communal heroes. But during the general election, they shamelessly become the true Malaysian leaders we dream of. They greet their voters in
MalayMalay is a group of languages closely related to each other to the point of mutual intelligibility but that linguists consider to be separate languages. They are grouped into a group called "Local Malay", part of a larger group called "Malayan" within the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the...
,
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
, Mandarin and
TamilTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in India, Sri Lanka and Singapore. Tamil is also spoken by significant minorities in Malaysia, Mauritius and Réunion as well as emigrant communities around the world...
; and if they can speak all these languages fluently, they would do so."
In August 2006, the Singapore Institute of International Affairs wrote that Malaysia politician
Khairy JamaluddinKhairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar is a Malaysian politician, and the son-in-law of former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Since 2008, Khairy has been a member of the Malaysian Parliament representing the constituency of Rembau...
"played the race card" by stirring up the
MalaysMalays may refer to:* Ethnic Malays, the ethnic group located primarily in the Malay peninsula, and parts of Sumatra and Borneo.* Malay race, a racial category encompassing peoples of South East Asia and sometimes the Pacific Islands....
and the Chinese Malaysian community. Responding to criticisms and demands for an apology, Khairy said his remarks were misunderstood and he "will not apologise" as he was acting only "in defence of the Malays and his party" and that "if we truly fight for our race, one should not apologise".