
O.J. Simpson was declared “not guilty” when I was in third grade. On that October morning in 1995, my teacher brought a portable radio into our classroom so that we could listen to the verdict live. When it was announced, my classmates let out a cheer. My teacher teared up and cheered, too. I learned a lot that day—once I got over my confusion at everyone cheering for the “not guilty” verdict when I thought we all knew O.J. was guilty of murder.