Pierre Vallieres (1938-1998) coined this term in his 1968 book, Nègres blancs d'amérique (White niggers of America) where he denounced the status of francophones of Québec as second-class citizens vis-à-vis the anglophones of Canada. Well the shit hit the fan and the October Crisis happened soon after.
United States Senator Robert Byrd(D-WV) also used the expression in a March 2001 interview. He had been a member of the KKK early in his career. Oops again.

And that is why white folks shouldn't use the word 'nigger'.