A Ford Co-worker doing research for his master thesis found that when Ford Motor hired blacks that it reached out to the local ministers as a means of the typical sociological control that Henry craved over his workers. It appears also that this could have affected the education and age levels that the authors speak of concerning hiring. One of the intended or not affects was that potential radicals and unionists could be removed prior to hiring, or at least minimized. It also had the effect of making a powerful group within the black community even more powerful, since they now had a lot of power as many people in the community owed them their livelihood.
Typical of many things about Ford and his policies they accomplished a great deal and were good for many many people, but the motives were not always altruistic. It's well known that hirings of blacks and immigrants who spoke little of the language included the hope that it would make organising harder as it put further differences between fellow workers. Ultimately, it didn't stop the labor movement, rather only delayed it.
Given the differences in history between the US and Canada a one size fits all view about race, i.e. North America, is likely to miss issues that are country and geographically specific. It can also lead to the view that all groups in the US have gotten past their particular hardships when that is not the case. Even today there is still an underbelly of hostility over the Civil war and reconstruction within the south.