Race card - Definition

Playing the race card is an allegation often raised against a person who the accuser feels has unnecessarily brought the issue of race or racism into a debate so as to obfuscate the truth. An allegation of playing the race card is almost always a controversial one. The phrase is used in two contexts; it can mean that someone has made a racist statement or taken a racist position, or it can mean that someone has (allegedly falsely) accused another person of being a racist.

A well-publicized example of the latter type occurred in the O.J. Simpson criminal trial when the prosecution accused the defense of playing the race card in trying to paint Mark Fuhrman as a racist and thus not a reliable witness against Simpson.