Facts From Life of Famous Football Player and Actor O.J. Simpson

Introduction

On June 12 1994, OJ Simpson, a football all-star, spokesman, and movie star, was tried for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown, and restaurant waiter Ron Goldman. When this news got around, people, specifically black people, stated that OJ was framed by racist police officers and that the public safety system in America was racist toward African-American citizens all over the country. But OJ was in fact guilty. Simpson sought to be post-racial, and it worked. People all over the country were “fighting the power”, and OJ was right in the middle of it all. But it was exactly what OJ wanted, he wanted people to think that he was framed, because it would have gave the courthouse a motive to give him less jail time, or even rule him innocent. OJ had a plan that worked perfectly.

Historical Context OJ Simpson was living in the LA area when he was arrested for murder.

After he was arrested, there were traces of blood found in the Ford Bronco outside OJ’s house the day after the arrest. The blood traced back to both victims, and OJ himself. Which was a huge lead in the case. The day After O.J. was arrested, there was a press conference scheduled at the police station at 2PM. With over 1000 news reports waiting, O.J. didn't show up. Then finally, a friend of O.J., Robert Kardashian, showed up at 5PM, with a suicide Note written by Simpson. O.J. stated, 'First everyone understands I had nothing to do with Nicole's murder ... Don't feel sorry for me. I've had a great life.' O.J.’s mother collapses after hearing this. At 6:20 PM, a motorist in Orange County called in police tipping them off that he had spotted O.J. in a Ford Bronco being driven by a lifelong friend AL Cowlings. At 6:45 police officer, Ruth Dixon spotted the bronco and started following it, but when she caught up to the vehicle, Cowlings yelled to Dixon that O.J. was in the back seat with a gun to his head. Dixon then backed off the vehicle in an attempt to not scare O.J. into pulling the trigger.

By this time O.J. had about 20 police cars following him by this time. 9 helicopters then joined the pursuit, news stations were live broadcasting this whole thing, Police officers, and friends were on the phone with O.J., trying to convince him to end the pursuit. It eventually worked, and O.J. ended the pursuit and came peacefully.

Conflict

The murder case of O.J. Simpson goes a lot further than just saying O.J. was guilty, or not guilty, for a lot of people it was about equality. It was about how people are treated differently because of the color of their skin. Riots broke out in the L.A. area after O.J. was arrested. People, mostly black people, say that Simpson was framed by white police officers that were racist and that wanted Simpson behind bars. Being the famous black person he was in this point in time, and doing what he did, and living where he lived, it was obvious that white people were not going to like him. Much like any other black person in history that had influence or input on anyone up to that point in time, white people wanted them out, whether that meant putting them behind bars, or killing them it didn't matter, they just didn't respect them the way they should have. Marcia Clark states, “If O.J. weren't a celebrity, he would've been convicted.” And that's the kind of disrespect that didn't make a lot of black people to happy.

Compromise

After the arrest of Simpson, Black people in the LA area were not happy with white people for the most part. Black people thought that white cops were racist, and white people thought that black people were overreacting to the whole thing. They also thought black people should just let the police do there job, and thought Simpson was guilty just like the police said. John McWhorter stated, “At the time, what I saw was black people ignoring the facts in favor of a kind of tribalism.” There were plenty of disputes and arguments over the whole thing, and someone needed to solve the conflict. This dispute went on for a while, and eventually, white people across the country began to be less racist and learned how to treat everyone with respect, and how to treat everyone equally.

By white people doing this, it eventually ended the conflict.SIgnificance in History For many black people across the country, O.J. Simpson changed the way they thought of white people, and changed the way they treated, and treated other people. Racism obviously still existed after the Civil War, but at this particular time, black people were really trying to put and end to it, and to gain respect from white people. And O.J. was a type of role model to black people throughout the L.A. area, and across the country. It became cool to be a black kid fighting the power. John McWhorter stated, “America learned the difference between what the cops mean to black people versus what they mean to most others. Too few got the message at the time. But after the killings of Walter Scott, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray and other unarmed blacks by the police over the past two years, the conversation has changed.”

Conclusion

As you can see, O.J. Simpson’s arrest was a lot more than just a murder case for both black, and white people throughout the U.S. For a lot of people, O.J. was a sort of representative for black people living in that day and age. They all wanted to be treated equally, but not all of them were, equality was everything to these people, and would do anything to get it. And with an unarmed black person getting shot during a protest by a white cop, this obviously didn't go over well with a lot of people, and all of this circled back to O.J. He was an idol to these people, all of them wanted equality, and with a famous black person such as Simpson potentially behind bars, he was right in the middle of all of it. But the more you start to think about it, the more it seems that he was just the right color, and arrested at the right time, and that’s what ended up giving him enough hope to continue.