They did this even during slavery. Take the poorest white man (who the plantation owners/rich whites) and treat him better than the BEST black man and he'll do whatever you want him to do. All the while, they HATED these poor whites, and would've NEVER given them jobs because they were getting the labor for FREE!!! White folks STILL fall for it too tho.
This is true. The slave owner would play the poor white trash and the black slaves against each other. He would say to the slaves that the "in-town" whites are poor, ignorant, and unsophisticated and that they not only hated the slave but would see to do them physical harm. He would say that he could only protect them as long as they stayed on the plantation. Once they left the plantation, there was nothing he could do as if there was this constant beckoning mob waiting just beyond the gates. He would say to the poor whites that the slave, if given freedom and equal access, would not only take the white man's jobs and women but would also seek to kill the white man for the injustices that had been bestowed on them.
The truth of the matter, upper class whites have always hated lower class whites and actually felt more at ease with blacks because blacks knew their place and because they lived around them and knew them in an intimate fashion. What would happen when the poor white man finds out how their aristocrats really regard them. It would be a repeat of the French Revolution which was what the elites truly feared. So they maintain their power by playing poor and ignorant groups off on each other which is a diversion tactic to hide the fact that they are, in fact, the source of the inequity that's pervasive in society.
The story of elites playing off the poor is the story of human history. The reality, there is no solution to inequality because those in power will do everything they can do to maintain their class position in society. That is the basis of an aristocracy - to maintain their position by any means necessary. Because we live in a society that was formed on white supremacy, we have two options, we can position ourselves better to lessen the blow but still understand that we will be at the bottom or we can revolt.
But lets be clear, if the power dynamics switched, and blacks were in power - lets not act like we wouldn't also try to maintain our position and do some fukked up things while doing so. Power corrupts and would turn even the most altruistic person if that person has had it long enough. And I'm okay with that. People need to realize that this shyt is a real-life Game of Thrones. You either position yourself to take power or you're food.