Virginia Durr Moment is a phrase originating in developmental psychology which refers to an experience and "triggering event" which can foster the moral development of an individual.
The book Some Do Care by developmental psychologists William Damon and Anne Colby (who are husband and wife), use the experience of Virginia Foster Durr to describe this phenomenon.
The book Educating Citizens: Preparing America's Undergraduates for Lives of Moral and Civic Responsibility, also describes the developmental significance of Durr's challenge from Wellesley: "[T]he incident lodged in Virginia's memory, creat[ed] a fracture in her convictions about race that contributed to their later destruction" (pg.
When used correctly, the signature causal sequence of a Virginia Durr Moment consists in: serious challenge-->self-reflection-->modification of value system-->moral development.
In the United Kingdom, some circles understand Paul McCartney's Blackbird as describing the moral development fostered by the proper usage of a Virginia Durr Moment.