This suggestion has been making the rounds for a little while now. I've seen articles that say the rise of the violent "alt-right" can be blamed at least in part on people shrugging their shoulders at the constant accusations of racism.
JMHO, the Left/Media has been pushing every button they can find for years to incite even a faint trace of violence from anybody to the right of Jane Fonda, primarily so they can finally stamp out all opposition in one final media blitz.
Those articles you've seen are just part of the same con game.
If they were even close to factual, I'd have gone berserk back in the 70's. (Along with a whole bunch of others.)
For much, much more than just their silly name calling.
It's a negotiation ploy, that (thankfully) Pres. Trump has made OK to do.
Think about it, these racebaiters only have the power that they're given. If they scream "RACIST!", and your response is, "I'm so sorry, what can I do to make this right?", you've ceded all of the power in the negotiation process to them.
Whereas, like Trump, if people scream "RACIST!", and your response is, "I don't care", then you've taken all of their power away from them. All that's left is for them to yell louder, and hope to goad you into a response, or a mistake.
BTW, that's where we're at on a national level, approximately, right now. Lots of sound and fury, signifying nothing.