The Race Card: How Bluffing about Bias Makes Race Relations Worse

I picked this book up merely for the title, it struck me as quite interesting, and I thought why not? I expected it to be more so of a conservative analysis with some left wing bashing, and there's some of that, but there is also some right wing bashing too. It comes off as mostly objective, looking at the issues where the Race Card is used and offering different scenarios analyzing whether or not racism was a factor. I found this to be quite intriguing because think about it, whenever you hear of something on the news where race might be a factor, most people think it is and don't bother to think of any alternative reasons. This is a definite for anyone interested in race issues today, if anything, but to offer a different viewpoint on the whole issue.

If racial injustice exists, shouldn't the "Race Card" be played to level the playing field? For example, are we a better society because O.J. Simpson's lawyers so expertly played the "Race Card?" Mr. Ford answers emphatically "no" to both questions. He directs the reader with example and reasoning (sometimes too much so - hence my rating of 4 stars) to examine racial injustice that may exist without racism, and decries the use of racism by analogy by some groups to advance their non-race agenda. Mr. Ford speaks to the majority of people who comprise the political center of this country who are apalled by racism and galled by the use of the race card. Don't give in to liberal or conservative bigots! Though the middle way is hard, Mr. Ford notes, it will result in racial justice that will eventually create what each of us want - a better society for all.

This quote from page 339 of "The Race Card: How Bluffing About Bias Makes Race Relations Worse" seems to neatly sum up the major point that author Richard Thompson Ford is trying to convey in his important new book. While Thompson freely acknowledges that significant gains have been made by Blacks and other minorities since the Supreme Court's landmark 1954 "Brown vs. Board of Education" decision he worries that those who perpetually invoke terms like "racism", "sexism" or "homophobia" each time someone dares to disagree with them do their causes a serious disservice. "The Race Card" examines the history of race relations in America in a fair and objective manner. Certainly the findings and recomendations offered in this book will challenge the long held beliefs of both liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats. During the 1950's and 1960's the goals of the civil rights movement seemed to be quite clear. Leaders were demanding an end to racial discrimination in areas such as employment and housing and firmly believed that racial integration was the ultimate solution to the racial divide in this nation. When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the historic "I Have A Dream" speech on August 28, 1963 he expressed the firm hope that "my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character". It was a goal that people of good will of all races and religions seemed to agree on. And it is quite apparent that tangible progress was made over the ensuing 20 years. Unfortunately, the march toward an integrated society would prove to be a somewhat short-lived phenomenon. In the late 1980's and early 1990's the concept of "black separatism" began to be advanced by a new generation of black activists. Likewise, the gospel of "multiculturalism" was spreading like wildfire at universities and institutions across the nation. It was a stunning turn of events! This obvious dichotomy in the goals and objectives of Black America was by far the most interesting subject matter presented in "The Race Card". All of a sudden minority students were demanding special curriculums and some were even calling for separate housing on campus. Advocates of "multiculturalism" were calling for radical changes to the curriculums of schools from kindergarden thru college. Multiculturists sought to de-emphasize the Judeo-Christian and Western European traditions thar had been prevalant in this nations schools for nearly two centuries. Not surprisingly, many of these views were rejected out of hand by a vast majority of the American people. As a result of these developments Richard Thompson Ford believes that the cause of racial integration suffered a serious setback during this period. Ford offers an objective analysis of these divergent points of view and offers some thoughts on how some of these thorny issues might be resolved. And as the full title of this book would sugge

Although I don't agree with everything the author writes, he leaves one with a lot to think about. The book covers various forms of using race such as "racism without racists" (Hurricane Katrina's aftermath) or "racism by analogy" (overweight people or smokers compare themselves to black slaves or Holocaust survivors). He demonstrates how using the race card often obscures real, more important issues. When it comes to legal issues, he is savvy enough to present three different cases of alleged discrimination sequentially but the presentations were dense and hard to understand for a non-legal reader. Also, I was not clear on what the final decisions were although I think he is more interested in the thinking that goes on in the judicial mind. The author is very complete and when it comes to issues such as affirmative action, he examines them from many points of view, pro, con and in between, showing that public policy regarding racial issues can help in one area but hurt in others. I had to laugh because the day after I finished the book, Ralph Nader announced his candidacy and was quoted as comparing his situation of being left out of the presidential race as similar to blacks--he played the race card!