After I heard that O.J. Simpson died, a couple of ideas crossed my thoughts. Principally, I wanted to jot down about it: I’ve a simultaneous fascination with and disdain for soccer and the way the sport is an amalgamation of American tradition—the dichotomous fantastic thing about the sport and the target destruction of primarily Black our bodies for white revenue and leisure. I’ve at all times been keen about social activism and the way high-profile folks, from actors to athletes, use their platforms to advertise causes they care about.
I used to be born after Simpson’s 1995 homicide trial, so I missed the whole lot when it was truly occurring: the white Bronco, the notorious glove becoming, and, in fact, the decision. I perceive the overwhelming pleasure many Black People felt when Simpson was discovered not responsible. He was on trial, in entrance of the complete nation, for brutally murdering a white lady: only for a second, take into consideration what number of occasions in American historical past Black males and boys have been lynched, overwhelmed and tortured due to their perceived menace to white womanhood. O.J. escaped that destiny. It was absolutely cathartic to see what *regarded like* a Black man lastly being handled pretty by the prison justice system.
Black America’s celebration and white America’s bewilderment at the results of Simpson’s trial was one of many first occasions that white People had been compelled to reckon with the very fact the justice system typically doesn’t ship on its promise of integrity and due course of for all. One thing beforehand invisible to white folks—the way in which American police and the prison justice system grind down Black folks—was abruptly thrust onto the nationwide stage, and everyone needed to course of it.
However once more—I wasn’t alive for this groundbreaking cultural second. Earlier than watching each O.J.: Made in America and The Individuals v. O.J. Simpson in 2016, I merely considered O.J. as “that man who folks combat about whether or not he’s a assassin or not.” Watching these two sequence was the primary time I understood the depth of what his trial meant for America.
Nonetheless, what didn’t appear to be clear to folks on the time was how Simpson’s authorized crew painted him to be a Black man railroaded by the justice system, however in actuality, earlier than his trial, O.J. by no means publicly spoke on Black points. In reality, folks in his shut circles comment how he typically mentioned “(he’s) not Black. (He’s) O.J.” For his total skilled profession, he actively distanced himself from all issues Black: when Rodney King was overwhelmed in L.A. and when Muhammad Ali refused the Vietnam draft, O.J. was staunchly silent. He had shut ties with the LAPD and his authorized crew poured the whole lot into emphasizing his Blackness to make their story of a person framed by police extra believable to the jury.
To me, he regarded responsible. And I don’t know the place this leaves us: his trial uncovered a deeply flawed justice system entrenched in antiBlack racism. On the similar time, O.J. solely embraced his Blackness when it got here time to avoid wasting his personal pores and skin and to consider it that method looks like a slap within the face to the Black group. Is his legacy as a legendary athlete sufficient that we really feel snug sitting in that disappointment? Is it tarnishing Simpson’s reminiscence if each time we communicate of him, we carry up his homicide trial?
I consider we as a society can suppose critically about what to do when celebrities disappoint us. It will get tougher when there are the added layers of race and fandom—in the end, we aren’t associates with well-known folks and placing apart our ardour as followers is usually tough. However it’s attainable to acknowledge O.J.’s athletic prowess and the truth that he completely encountered racism in his life, whereas additionally not excusing the brutality he inflicted on the folks round him. If we’re going to recollect O.J. Simpson, let’s keep in mind all of him and what his story taught us about race in America.
