JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground

HTML

<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.2.1.min.js"></script>
<nav class="menu">
  <ul>
    <li><a href="#">Home</a></li>
    <li><a href="#">About</a></li>
    <li><a href="#">Contact</a></li>
  </ul>
</nav>

CSS

nav ul {
  display: flex;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
}

nav ul li {
  list-style: none;
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
  flex: 1;
  display: flex;
}

nav ul li a {
  display: block;
  height: 70px;
  line-height: 70px;
  text-align: center;
  text-decoration: none;
  flex: 1;
  background: white;
  color: blue;
  font-size: 1.5em;
  position: relative;
}

nav ul li a:after {
  content: "";
  position: absolute;
  top: 0;
  left: 0;
  right: 0;
  height: 0%;
  transition-property: height;
  transition-duration: .3s;
  background: white;
  mix-blend-mode: difference;
}

nav ul li a:hover:after,
nav ul li.active a:after {
  height: 100%;
}

JavaScript

$(document).ready(function() {
	$('.menu ul li').on('click', 'a', function() {
		$(this).parent().siblings('li.active').removeClass('active');
		$(this).parent().addClass('active');
	});
});