This paper describes the obstacles to learning which popular ideologies of race and crime pose in the classroom and demonstrates the use of history as a strategy for overcoming these obstacles. The authors discuss the historical context in which contemporary ideologies of race and crime have emerged, the particular problems that unrecognized ideologies present in the classroom, pedagogical goals with regard to students' assumptions informed by ideologies, and examples of the use of historical multiculturalism to confront popular ideologies of race and crime.