Your statement about black/white/gray is true. However, in any attempt to reach the truth, we must establish certain facts first and then explore exceptions. If we ignore the rules or fail to establish what they are, then all things are possible, and nothing is really true. Unfortunately modern education has led students in that direction. In our current environment a student or teacher can say, 'Your truth is not my truth.' Being involved with public education, I'm certain you're familiar with this sad trend.

If I may digress, here's a not-so-recent example of what passes for history in our time. In February 1993 Dr. Yosef ben-Jochannan was invited to give the MLK Jr. lecture at Wellesley College. Introduced as a "distinguished Egyptologist," Dr. ben-Jochannan was actually an outspoken Afro-centrist author who wrote that Greek civilization was stolen from Africa, the main culprit being Aristotle, who "stole knowledge" from the library of Alexandria. Dr. ben-Jochannan also contended that true Jews were actually of African descent.

Following the lecture at Wellesley College, Dr. Mary Leftkovitz asked how Aristotle had could have come to Egypt with Alexander and had "stolen" from the Library at Alexandria. when the In fact the library had been built after Aristotle died. Responding as if he had never heard this before, Dr. ben-Jochannan replied that he "resented the tone of the inquiry." Several Wellesley students later accused Dr Leftkovitz of racism, saying that the professor "had been brainwashed by white historians."

Dr Leftkovitz writes,

To respond to the kinds of allegations that are now being made requires us in effect to start from the beginning, to explain the nature of the ancient evidence, and to discuss what has long been known and established as if it were now subject to serious question. In short, we are being put on the defensive when in ordinary circumstances there would have been nothing to be defensive about. Worst of all, making this sort of defense keeps us from going on to discover new material and bring our attention to bear on real interpretative problems. Instead of getting on with our work, we must rehearse what has long been known....Differences do not matter because all history [becomes] a form of rhetoric, and narratives of the past can be constructed virtually at will.

For what it's worth, Dr. ben-Jochannan's teachings are still alive and well today. Look for the "Stolen Legacy" paragraph at the bottom of this page.
http://www4.wittenberg.edu/student_organizations/greek/alpha_phi_alpha/AfricanRoots.html

Our version of "Stolen Legacy" seems to be that armed black men in great numbers could be found in Confederate uniform throughout the war. If the Black Confederate Stolen Legacy is true, then it makes no sense for Southern officers to risk their careers in the effort to put men of color into a Confederate soldier's uniform. It's been a while since anyone mentioned General Patrick Cleburne, and aside from my own posts, no one cites Col. William C Oates of the 15th Alabama Regiment. Even after Oates left the 15th Alabama in 1864 to lead a different regiment, his old command voted by heavy majority to accept black men in their ranks, if the government would have allowed it. His frustration was still evident 35 years after the war ended, as Oates speculated on what might victories might have been won had General Lee been allowed to recruit his thinned ranks with slaves and former slaves.

Of course comments by Oates and other Confederate veterans make no sense if Black Confederates were really there all along. People simply ignore the cold, hard fact that the Confederate government restricted enlistment to white male citizens until the war had been utterly lost. As Mary Leftkovitz writes, when no rules apply, "all history [becomes] a form of rhetoric, and narratives of the past can be constructed virtually at will."