They argue for an approach emphasizing historical multiculturalism which will challenge students' assumptions of race and crime which are based on current media depictions and the pervasiveness of popular ideologies of crime. These ideologies equate crime primarily with young black males. This discussion of contemporary ideologies of crime emphasizes specific problems that unrecognized ideologies present in the college classroom and examines how ideologies of race and crime appear to be mediated by students' racialized life experiences. The authors describe a course, which discusses topics including drugs, gangs and violence, and police-minority relations, and how the course instructors used the power of history to engender conceptual change. 20 notes and 52 references