I was on the job a few years in a different community before that happened, and it caused quite a stir at the time.
Rumor had it that my department did the same thing about reviewing older applications.
If true, nothing ever became of it.
About 5 years after that incident, we had one guy get on that was half black and half something else.
He was a good shit, and was whiter than me (went to school in Newton and played lacrosse for example).
Guys were joking around one day about new hires, and he mentioned that when he filled out the application,
and the question of race came up, he was told to put down black because he would have a better chance
of getting the job.