If you're from the South, then you know it's been beaten into you with a wink and a nudge. The South is terrible for the "but everybody REALLY knows" line that happens when you are no longer in mixed company.
Most Southern whites are particularly thin-skinned when it comes to anyone calling them out on either their racism or their inability to perceive racism... and I say this as a white guy whose family owned plantations.
I personally feel no shame for the sins of my ancestors. They lived in their own time with their own set of rules and laws and morals. It's the behavior of my living kin that bothers me.
I've found that here in Louisiana people tend to be less racist overall, while those who are don't hide it. There are the guys who get drunk and throw slurs around, and worse, but I've also never seen as many interracial couples anywhere else. The openness makes it easier to know who your friends and enemies are.
I agree with not feeling ashamed about the sins of your ancestors, but I also don't believe in blaming others for their ancestors' sins. One branch of my family owned a plantation in Haiti. Then the revolution came, and that branch came to an abrupt end. While I'm extremely bothered that the revolutionaries killed the children as well, I'm not going to blame their descendants.
Most Southern whites are particularly thin-skinned when it comes to anyone calling them out on either their racism or their inability to perceive racism... and I say this as a white guy whose family owned plantations.
I personally feel no shame for the sins of my ancestors. They lived in their own time with their own set of rules and laws and morals. It's the behavior of my living kin that bothers me.