I'll spare you the usual speech I give about why they are my heroes. The fact of the matter is that my grandparents were racists. The thing is this: I never would have known that. Here is the reason I couldn't have known, yet somehow found out. What I'm looking for is some similar phenomenon in history (possibly the same generations about the same issues). What do historians know about it, and does it have a name?

You know how when you're a child, especially a very young child, you have talks that to you are just casual talks, but to the grownup it's very serious because this is a talk that will shape your future morality? In your complete innocence, you ask your oldest grandparent about death, or perhaps you're a black child asking her mother, "How come we get invited to all of Mr. & Mrs. Whit's parties except the ones that their Nana and Papa come to?"

I remember some of those talks I had with my grandparents. I remember that every time my question had anything to do with race, they taught me that racism is wrong. Then they did an about-face when I caused fear of the possibility of introducing "negroid blood" into the family line.

As best I can make out is this: They knew intellectually that racism was wrong, and taught me so DESPITE the fact that they couldn't rid themselves of their own emotional racism (which overcame them when I brought home my first girlfriend). The fact that my 1/2 black girlfriend's mother was the white 1/2 just made things worse.

Is there a word to describe that sort of forward-thinking morality or subculture where one believes one thing, but knows, and teaches the opposing view? Is this known to be a phenomenon of any significance before or since the Civil Rights Movement?