“In the 1950s, what state in this country had the lowest paid white workers?”

Answer: Mississippi.

Sanders then explained:

What did the whole system tell these white workers, who were the lowest-paid white workers in the U.S. — in other words, these workers were being exploited.

What they said is, you can go over to that water fountain and take a drink, and this black guy can’t. You can go to this bathroom, you can go to this restaurant. Man, you got it good!

Meanwhile, we’re paying you nothing.

So you divided blacks from white, in that case, whites from blacks. It is what they always do. And then they go, you see that woman over there? An uppity woman wants your job, man. You’re not gonna let that woman take your job, you’ve got to divide from her. And that guy’s gay over there, you gotta hate him, he’s going to destroy your marriage because he’s gay, gotta hate him. Oh, and there’s a guy who talks with a Mexican accent, a little bit Spanish. You’re supposed to hate him.

That has been what the ruling class has done over and over again. Why? Because they understand that when we come together, if we fight for decent wages, for education for your kids, the right to Social Security, we win. If they divide us, they win.