For many politicians and parents, there’s growing concern over critical race theory. It maintains that race and racism in America are about not individual actors and actions as much as bigger structures that lead to and maintain gaps between racial groups. The theory started in the legal academy, and some fear that it has begun to take over the American education system.

How concerned should you be? Jane Coaston and her guests disagree. Chris Rufo is a senior fellow and the director of the initiative on critical race theory at the Manhattan Institute. Professor Ralph Richard Banks is a co-founder and the faculty director of the Stanford Center for Racial Justice.

Mentioned in this episode:

“Critical Race Theory: An Introduction” by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, published in 2001

“How a Conservative Activist Invented the Conflict Over Critical Race Theory” in The New Yorker

“Does Teaching America It’s Racist Make It Less Racist?” podcast episode by “The Argument”

“Critical Race Theory: On the New Ideology of Race” panel discussion from the Manhattan Institute

Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.