Fights about how to understand America’s racial history are nothing new, and neither are moves by politicians to dictate what schools teach. The two strands merge in the current debate over critical race theory as state legislatures and school boards rush to determine what students hear about it. The theory’s detractors say they are trying to protect children from anti-White indoctrination; their opponents argue that they are attacking a caricature of the concept to frighten or enrage White vote