Here is a really good, really public example of how even the appearance of "diversity hires" can cause issues. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has ill will toward Yale, his alma mater because "I’d learned the hard way that a law degree from Yale meant one thing for white graduates and another for blacks, no matter how much anyone denied it." [0]
[0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clarence-thomas-and-...