A controversy brewed around a year ago when Dr. James White made a comment on his podcast, The Dividing Line, where he stated something along the lines of “the Black Hebrew Israelites make the KKK look like amateurs.” Basically, the Black Hebrew Israelites are more racist than the KKK. You can go look up the episode yourself, finding it is beside the point, really. But a lot of people took issue with White’s assertion, including one well-known up-and-coming race-baiter, Kyle Howard.

Howard argues in a recent video on Twitter that White’s statement was, well, racist because he didn’t take into account that the Black Hebrew Israelites have never lynched anyone or burned crosses on anyone’s lawn. He acknowledges that the nefarious group is “ideologically ethnic supremacist,” but that they have not actively murdered people in the way that the KKK has — therefore, they aren’t quite as racist.

Let’s break this down, shall we?

First, let’s not compare today with yesterday. In our society today, it’s difficult to get away with murder. Back in time, when the KKK was actively murdering black people, the structure of society allowed these things to take place and, in many cases, be overlooked. I want to be clear; I am not making any excuses for these atrocious happenings. But it is a historical fact that when depraved human beings are allowed to get away with evil, evil will be more rampant.

Let’s place this scenario in today’s society. Does the KKK still exist in large numbers with racist biases and rhetoric? Yes. Do we see the KKK orchestrating mass cross-burnings and lynchings today? No. Why? The same reason the Black Hebrew Israelites don’t. Because they can’t get away with it.

Again, we live in a society that, by the grace of God, has moved away from the acceptance of such atrocious behavior toward other image-bearers in a way that was unprecedented in the past. But the wickedness in the hearts of the unregenerate still exists — and likely greater today than before. While no official numbers exist, I’ve seen estimates of 200 thousand to over a million Black Hebrew Israelites in America. Contrast that with an estimated 3000 KKK members in America. One thing is clear, the Black Hebrew Israelites outnumber the KKK exponentially.

Further, the Black Hebrew Israelites have a far more visible presence in everyday society, compared to the KKK. In other words, you’re hard-pressed to run into a group of KKK members on a street corner in a city wearing uniforms and chanting racist rhetoric. Don’t get me wrong, it does happen. But the incidents are low in comparison. It is commonplace to see the Black Hebrew Israelites out on the streets gathered regularly, chanting, decked out in their religious garb, and holding signs threatening the wrath of God on “White America.”

The Black Hebrew Israelites are as vicious and as violent as they can get away with in today’s society. Like the KKK, they are not regenerate, born-again Christians who hold to a biblical gospel of salvation, and they have highly developed ways to intimidate and incite violence against white people. As a street-evangelist, I’ve personally experienced this, as have many others that I know. In fact, the FBI has labeled some of these groups who are born out of what they refer to as “black identity extremists” as domestic terrorists.

So, is the KKK innocent? By no means, they are a racist, bigoted group of individuals that should be condemned. But let’s just operate out of reality for a moment: the Black Hebrew Israelites are a much greater threat to peaceful coexistence today than the KKK.