Not true.
The phrase has been around since at least the early 20th century.
From a civil engineering standpoint, I'm sure it's been around even longer...
Beware—Tossing around the word racist will only cause the “Boy who Cried wolf” syndrome —It will become worthless. Once it was a club that the left could use to knock down real or imagines enemies—and it worked well. But, over use may have limited its power and use. It seems everything now is racist—the flag of the USA, the color white, “God Bless America” song, Uniforms of police or soldiers, everything that defines America. Bad idea. Your race card has just expired— insufficient funds.