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Thirty years ago, before “viral” was a thing and social media gave us countless things on which to focus, we basically all had one device – a television – to keep us hooked to the single most compelling event in the 1990s: The O.J. Simpson Murder Trial.

There was no Black Twitter/X to confirm it at the time, but the temperature was obvious: Black folks largely sided with Simpson, who died of cancer Wednesday evening at 76, during the trial.

Back in June 1994 — the summer before I entered eighth grade — I came downstairs to see my father glued to the television watching A.C. Cowlings driving Simpson (who was allegedly holding a gun to his head) in what’s now the most famous white Ford Bronco of all time for what became the most famous slow-speed police chase of all time.

 

I was not yet imbued with the knowledge that Black men running from the cops at any speed was no good, but I was captivated just the same.

Because he kept the family television glued to the E! Network every evening, pops basically forced me to pay attention to the nearly year-long Trial of the Century. It occurred during a racially turbulent time in the country…just a couple years after the Los Angeles Police Department’s beating of Rodney King and the subsequent L.A. riots.

When Simpson’s defense team revealed that LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman was dropping N-bombs on tape, Black folks knew that he and his team were not to be trusted. The argument that Fuhrman planted gloves to nail Simpson — and the latter’s famous failure to fit said gloves – were the cherries on top that we needed to believe Simpson was an innocent man.

In my Black city of Detroit, defense attorney Johnnie Cochran was a borderline deity; his “Dream Team,” which included Robert Shapiro, Alan Dershowitz and Robert Kardashian (years before his ex-wife and their devil spawn took over the zeitgeist), were heroes.

Meanwhile, prosecutor Marcia Clark was the enemy, constantly clowned in the tabloid media for her frumpy sartorial choices and generally “unsexy” appearance during a time when the “Baywatch” babe was still a thing. Christopher Darden was a sellout the likes of Ben Carson post 2013: a successful Black man trying to take down another successful Black man.

As a high school freshman, I remember the cheers from students in the other classroom the moment Simpson’s not guilty verdict was read Oct. 7, 1995. I also remember news outlets at the time making a point to show the contrasting reactions of white audiences and Black audiences as the verdict was read: cheering versus bleeped-out swearing.

Of course, time and more than a few mind-numbingly ridiculous moves on the part of the Juice have made Black folks reconsider our position on his guilt. But his exoneration was a middle-finger to the racist legal system and made us feel like winners – even if for a little while.