The View From Here . . .
By Bob Morgan, Jr.

The reappearance of OJ Simpson in the news serves as a timely reminder of how far we have come in the last twelve years.

Many of us remember where we were when the not guilty verdict was read on October 3, 1995 in Mr. Simpson's celebrated double trial for the murder of his ex-wife, Nichole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. I was in a conference room where a television had been placed and the jury's decision, reached after only three hours of deliberation, was greeted by gasps and a smattering of applause, mostly from minority members of our staff.

And indeed the verdict had strong racial overtones. Many white people believed that the black majority jury ignored overwhelming evidence of guilt, including DNA. (A civil jury later would find Mr. Simpson liable for the wrongful death of Ms. Simpson and Mr. Goldman and assessed damages of $33.5 million.) Blacks, for their part, pointed to institutionalized racism in the Los Angeles Police Department, epitomized by the past use of a racial epithet by the detective in charge of investigating the case.

The Simpson criminal verdict came at a time of considerable racial polarization. Crime rates remained high, a source of continuing ethnic tension. Three years earlier, major rioting, resulting in approximately 50 deaths, had occurred in Los Angeles, following the acquittal of four officers accused in the videotaped beating of motorist Rodney King. (Some of the accused officers were later convicted in a federal trial.) And the year before that, three days of riots broke out in Brooklyn's Crown Heights section highlighting tensions between blacks and some segments of the Jewish community. In 1995, the year of the verdict, a racially charged confrontation at Freddie's Fashion Mart in Harlem was followed by the death of eight people in an arson fire.

Since then, things seemed to have calmed down considerably. Riots have become largely unknown and civil disorder rare. There have been a few significant race based controversies (the Amadou Diallo police shooting comes to mind) but nothing resulting in the violence of the early nineties. Crime rates are lower and the sense of security among all groups higher. The 2004 presidential campaign of race baiter Al Sharpton was basically a failure.

It is not always easy to determine the reason for the success, although considerable credit should be given to members of all groups who have learned that working together is much better than confrontation and violence. Perhaps a good symbol of the new attitude is Newark mayor Corey Booker, who has emphasized an end of violence in his crime-plagued city as the key to moving forward.

As for the current charges against Mr. Simpson, I certainly do not have much of an opinion. The circumstances, which seem to involve an attempt to recover sports memorabilia once owned by the former football star, are far removed from those of a typical armed robbery. The court system will decide his guilt or innocence, and determine any punishment. But this time it seems very unlikely that race will play any role in Mr. Simpson's case. And, twelve years after the rather shocking verdict of October 3, 1995, that's the way it should be.