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O.J. Simpson's trial divided the nation. What legacy does he leave behind?

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 2: Double murder defendant O.J. Simpson (R) and defense attorney Carl Douglas (L) listen as Judge Lance Ito announces that the jury in the Simpson trial had reached a verdict 02 October in Los Angeles. The verdict will be read 03 October. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read MYUNG J. CHUN/AFP via Getty Images)

MYUNG CHUN/AFP via Getty Images

O.J. Simpson's trial divided the nation. What legacy does he leave behind?

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 2: Double murder defendant O.J. Simpson (R) and defense attorney Carl Douglas (L) listen as Judge Lance Ito announces that the jury in the Simpson trial had reached a verdict 02 October in Los Angeles. The verdict will be read 03 October. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read MYUNG J. CHUN/AFP via Getty Images)

MYUNG CHUN/AFP via Getty Images

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O.J. Simpson's trial divided the nation. What legacy does he leave behind?

O.J. Simpson was more than a football star. More than a pop culture icon or a defendant acquitted of murder. He became a symbol of America's complicated relationship to race, celebrity, and justice. His family announced that he died of cancer Wednesday at age 76. The murder trial of O.J. Simpson became not only about one man and two victims, but the entire country. Coming up, we assess the legacy of a case, and a verdict, that put race in America on the stand. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 2: Double murder defendant O.J. Simpson (R) and defense attorney Carl Douglas (L) listen as Judge Lance Ito announces that the jury in the Simpson trial had reached a verdict 02 October in Los Angeles. The verdict will be read 03 October. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read MYUNG J. CHUN/AFP via Getty Images)

MYUNG CHUN/AFP via Getty Images
 

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O.J. Simpson was more than a football star. More than a pop culture icon or a defendant acquitted of murder.

He became a symbol of America's complicated relationship to race, celebrity, and justice. His family announced that he died of cancer Wednesday at age 76.

The murder trial of O.J. Simpson became not only about one man and two victims, but the entire country. Coming up, we assess the legacy of a case, and a verdict, that put race in America on the stand.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

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