This was very open around 1970, there was no push back so the employers would tell you to your face.
Even the Texas unemployment office one time was looking through suggestions for me and the guy would start reading and then say, oh, no whites.
The first Affirmative Action by the federal government was an Executive Order by JFK 6 weeks after being sworn-in.
In the late 70s I applied for a summer job with a government agency. I had a BS degree in the appropriate field. The guy told me he would keep my name in his wallet if I liked, but he was under orders to hire ANY minority or woman. To include someone 16 years old and in high school. But if no one applied, he would call me the Friday before work started and give me the job.
The job also included a lot of time in the desert, alone. I got the job and had a great summer. But...a 16 year old high school girl would have been hired over a male college grad with a degree in the field. He just couldn’t find any who would take the job.