From someone who is old enough to remember, here's the deal:
Negroes (aka "colored people") were the victim of all sorts of discrimination, hate crimes, and slights. Over time, "White America" saw this and wanted to bring about an end to such abuses, by creating what we called a "color-blind" society, where everyone would be judged by "the content of their character and not the color of their skin." There was a colored guy who authored this description...don't recall what his name was.
Then the Supreme Court stepped in and decreed that in order to abolish discrimination, "we" had to create a new form of discrimination - basically against Whites - called "Affirmative Action." This pissed off a lot of people, mainly working-class white people (not the rich, educated bastards who created Affirmative Action), who PERCEIVED that their rights were being trampled on, in the interest of making rich, privileged white people feel good about themselves. (The actual number of White People who were harmed was and is microscopic compared to the number who perceive themselves as being victimized).
But the bottom line was - and remains - that a lot of marginally qualified "African Americans," Hispanics, and women are being accepted, hired, promoted, and exalted, all in the name of "Diversity," which is what Affirmative Action was re-named after everyone saw what bullshit it actually was.
And on the other side of the racial coin, the creation of Affirmative Action/Diversity, along with "Black" political leaders who exalted "Victimhood" above all other values, spawned a couple generations of "minorities" who EXPECT not EQUAL TREATMENT, but rather privileged treatment, because, you see, their tenth generation ancestors may have been slaves.
And that is why working-class "White" people are resentful when they see acceptances, hirings, promotions, and other rewards that are supposed to be handed out on the basis of qualifications or merit, handed out to someone marginally qualified because they happen to be the right race, ethnicity, gender, or what-have-you.
Understand?