Among the signature images of O.J. Simpson's acquittal of the murders of his ex-wife and her friend was the contrasting tableaus of Black people grouping in front of television screens applauding while white people watching it were shaking their heads appalled, perplexed and even disgusted by a verdict that flew in the face of obvious fact.
That gulf persists, but it narrows apace, and if the verdict came down today, it would be a lot less perplexing to many white people than it was back then. Many would understand why the jury acted as it did.
The verdict and the response to it among the Black community weren't signs of support for Simpson; they were protests against a long legacy of mistreatment and even murder at the hands of the police.
For Black people in Los Angeles recalling how the L.A.P.D. had treated them for decades, for Black people in Philadelphia not long past the all but open racism of the police force there under Mayor Frank Rizzo, for Black people in Chicago remembering the racist profiling and abuse by the cops called the Flying Squad, the sheer fact of a Black man getting off on a murder charge was of epic significance.
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