A politically divided North Carolina Board of Education on Thursday narrowly approved the state’s K-12 social studies standards, which has been criticized for implementing elements of critical race theory. In a vote largely split along party lines, the board’s Democratic majority voted 7-5 to pass the revised standards. In the wake of the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, the board voted in July to delay the adoption of the standards (pdf) to include “diverse histories, experiences, and perspectives of racial, ethnic, gender, and identity minority groups, as well as marginalized, undervalued, and underrepresented groups.” Under the newly-passed standards, which will be put in place this fall, North Carolina’s second-graders are required to learn how “various indigenous, religious, gender, and racial groups advocate for freedom and equality.” Fourth-grader are asked to explain how “revolution, reform, and resistance” shaped their state. Eighth-grade teachers are asked to teach “how slavery segregation, voter suppression, …