This is a hell of a way to celebrate Black History Month...

I don't want to get political or divisive in a story, but I also don't want to ignore what I consider to be a giant warning sign. A literal sign held by a couple of people with the right to do exactly what they were doing in Portland, Maine.

I was shocked. I shouldn't be. Today's climate has become so argumentative and hostile that of course there's a banner that screams IT'S OKAY TO BE WHITE.

How did this phrase start?

According to the Anti-Defimation League, the leading anti-hate organization in the world, the phrase 'It’s Okay To Be White' is a slogan popularized in late 2017. It was used by members of the controversial discussion forum 4chan. It's a brilliant idea. To use a pretty innocuous and inoffensive slogan, and plaster it everywhere. The hope was to have 'liberals' react so negatively to the fliers that they would tear them down and that would prove liberals didn't think it was 'okay' to be white.

White supremacists have adopted It's Okay to Be White.

Whether the original trollers were white supremacists or not, actual white supremacists hopped on board the new campaign, according to ADL, and the term 'It's Okay to Be White' would often be followed with links to white supremacist websites. Or a combination of the phrase with white supremacist language or imagery.

Fliers are posted at colleges and universities across the country.

In 2018, the ADL said that an effort to spread the word included posters at colleges. There were even specific instructions on how to put the posters up, and what you could to do blend in while putting up the fliers.

I won't fall into the trap of saying it's not okay to be white. I do have self-control, and even though this is emotional, I won't take the bait.

What I will do is make sure that organizations like the ADL receive my support and money. I will also encourage people to do research into phrases that seem innocent.

It's a very clever way to spreading hate, but those filled with love are way more clever and way smarter.