“They swapped Klan hoods for Brooks Brothers suits,” said CNN Commentator Bakari Sellers during a segment discussing Supreme Court rulings on congressional redistricting.

 

Sellers declared that America today is just as racist as it was in 1896, that’s only 30 years after the Civil War ended and the year of the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. He claimed, “They swapped Klan hoods for Brooks Brothers suits.”

This type of inflammatory rhetoric does more than exaggerate, it actively fuels division by weaponizing ethnicity to paint modern America as essentially unchanged from the Jim Crow era.

 

Such claims collapse, however, when measured against reality. Since 1896, America has:

 

• Elected Barack Obama, its first Black president, twice.
• Installed Kamala Harris as the first Black and Indian-American Vice President.
• Seated two Black Supreme Court justices: Clarence Thomas and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
• Featured Black Americans prominently in government, business, entertainment, and media. This includes Bakari Sellers himself appearing on national television alongside Black colleagues and hosts.

 

These milestones, along with the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, and massive cultural and economic shifts, have demonstrated profound progress. Thus, equating today’s society with 1896 diminishes the real victories of the Civil Rights movement and ignores the opportunities available to Americans of all backgrounds. But, that may be Sellers’ the point.

 

This isn’t an isolated overstatement as Democrats and left-leaning political pundits have repeatedly used similar tactics; framing policy disagreements on voting maps, education, policing, or elections as proof of enduring white supremacy. By keeping racial grievances alive and portraying the country as perpetually one step away from reverting to its worst past, they:

 

• Maintain strong racial voting blocs.
• Demonize opponents as racists, shutting down legitimate debate.
• Justify expanded government power and identity-based policies.

The strategy appears intentional: perpetual crisis sustains political power and media relevance. Outrage drives clicks and votes. When every disagreement becomes “systemic racism,” unity becomes impossible.

 

Christians, in particular, we must recognize this pattern.

 

Scripture calls believers to pursue truth, justice, and reconciliation and to reject division, falsehood, or perpetual grievance. Allowing political actors to sow discord through exaggerated racial narratives contradicts the biblical commands to love our neighbors, speak truthfully, and seek peace.

 

Believers have a responsibility to call out this division for what it is: a destructive tactic that harms individuals, families, and the nation. Christians should reject narratives that keep people chained to victimhood and instead promote hope, personal responsibility, accountability, and genuine unity based on shared humanity and truth.

 

America has real challenges and remaining disparities that deserve honest discussion, but pretending the country is stuck in 1896 doesn’t solve problems. It’s time to reject these divisive tactics and pursue a better path forward – through Christ Jesus.

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