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A new ESPN docuseries is shining a light on the O.J. Simpson trial and what it meant for race relations in the United Sates.

The Simpson trial and subsequent verdict was a shot heard around the world, stirring up tensions in America. Still to this day, his name sparks heated debates in classrooms, at dinner tables, and in barber shops.

Little did America know, the trial of O.J. Simpson was about more than just a verdict. ESPN’s latest 30 for 30 documentary examines the controversial O.J. Simpson case in a way that sheds a harsh light on race relations in the U.S.

During Wednesday’s edition of NewsOne Now, Roland Martin and his panel of guests discussed ESPN’s five-part series and why O.J. Simpson is the poster child for race in America.

Jon-Christopher Bua, White House Correspondent and Political Analyst, explained why he believes this nation is so fixated on Simpson: “Three years after Rodney King was brutalized — we all saw it — the guys who did it to him were let go. They had to go to another regent to even do the trial.”

Bua continued, “Three years later, an African-American handsome star comes out and is able to afford the kind of attorneys, the kind of support that an average rich White man could do and he turned the tables.” 

NewsOne Now panelist Lauren Victoria Burke took on the analysis of America’s fascination with O.J. when she said, “This is the first in American history to get away with killing two White people and walk away — it has never happened before.”

She added the fixation with Simpson revolves around “How the hell did he get away with that double homicide?” and the fact “he could afford the legal representation another defendant couldn’t afford.”

Burke believes America’s unhealthy obsession with O.J. is “more about money than it was about race.”

Watch Roland Martin, Lauren Victoria Burke, Jon-Christopher Bua, and the rest of the NewsOne Now panel discuss ESPN’s new series and America’s fascination with O.J. Simpson in the video clip above.

Watch NewsOne Now with Roland Martin, in its new time slot on TV One.

Subscribe to the “NewsOne Now” Audio Podcast on iTunes.

What Is America’s Fascination With The O.J. Simpson Trial?  was originally published on newsone.com