When a San Francisco teacher recently handed students cotton plants in a lesson about the hardship of slavery, it ignited immediate controversy at the school. There was an investigation, a debate among parents and an apology. Host Demian Bulwa hears from Chronicle reporter Jill Tucker and Ohio State University professor Hasan Jeffries about why incidents like this are so complicated — and important — as the nation reckons with the ongoing harm of racism — and as conservatives seek to ban such teaching altogether.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices