University of Alberta political scientist Jared Wesley is accusing Alberta separatists of racism because Christians are organizing a day of prayer and fasting for Alberta independence.

The evidence? The title of a prayer event.

An online poster advertises “The Birthing of a Nation Through Prayer for the Province of Alberta,” inviting Albertans to participate in prayer and fasting on August 23.

The Breakdown mocked the event as something Albertans should be “alarmed” about.

Wesley went considerably further.

For those who missed the dog whistle, "Birth of a Nation" was a 1915 film produced as a recruitment video for the KKK. And it continues to be used for that purpose today.

Anyone still unconvinced that racism is endemic to far-right populist movements like Alberta separatism? https://t.co/BB7kBBimMq

— Jared Wesley (@DrJaredWesley) August 18, 2026

“For those who missed the dog whistle, ‘Birth of a Nation’ was a 1915 film produced as a recruitment video for the KKK,” Wesley wrote on X.

He then made the leap from a similar collection of words to an accusation against an entire political movement: “Anyone still unconvinced that racism is endemic to far-right populist movements like Alberta separatism?”

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There is a kernel of historical truth buried underneath the accusation. But the corn isn't popped. 

D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation was an explicitly racist 1915 American film that glorified the Ku Klux Klan. Historians have documented its role in helping revive and popularize the Klan, and subsequent academic research has linked screenings of the movie to increased Klan support. 

But that doesn't establish Wesley's allegation.

The Alberta poster does not use the title The Birth of a Nation. It says “The Birthing of a Nation Through Prayer.” Its imagery includes an Alberta flag, a Bible, an oil pumpjack, mountains, a praying pregnant woman and a bald eagle. It advertises Christian prayer and fasting and quotes Romans 13:11.

Nothing presented by Wesley demonstrates that the organizers were referencing Griffith's movie, much less signalling support for the KKK.

And the phrase “birth of a nation” is not inherently a reference to the 1915 film. Nations being “born,” the “birth” of countries and the “birth of a nation” are ordinary descriptions of nation-building and independence. A linguistic resemblance is not evidence of racist intent.

Another X user, Raoul Duke Nukem, pointed out the weakness in the theory, joking that the supposed “dog whistle” would apparently have to be aimed at “100 movie buffs and 1000000 leftist researchers” familiar enough with a 111-year-old American silent film to decode it.

You got it, phase 4 of “The Birthing of a Nation Through Prayer for the Province of Alberta” is clearly a dog whistle for the 100 movie buffs and 1000000 leftist researchers (none of whom live in Alberta) still aware of “Birth of a Nation”, a movie made in America 110 years ago.

— Raoul_Duke_Nukem (@NukemRaoul) August 18, 2026

Wesley's accusation is particularly noteworthy because his X profile currently promotes Lead Not Leave, which describes itself as a “Pro-Alberta. Pro-Canada. Policy Initiative.”

Thanks, Professor Lead Not Leave, but calling political opponents racist isn't evidence that they are racist.

If there is evidence that the prayer organizers deliberately chose their wording as a reference to Griffith's film or the KKK, produce it. If there is evidence that racism is “endemic” to Alberta's independence movement, produce that too.

Otherwise, what Wesley has presented is guilt by word association.

Calling people racist is not a substitute for an argument. And without evidence, such accusations can function as a powerful way of stigmatizing political opponents and intimidating ordinary people out of participating in legitimate democratic debate.

Christians praying and fasting for a political outcome may strike Wesley or The Breakdown as strange, objectionable or even ridiculous. They're free to say so, but it is a common Christian practice to give their suffering to the Lord. See: Lent. 

It doesn't make the people praying racists.