THE SIMPSON,O.J. TRIAL - CHALLENGES TO SCIENCE AND SOCIETY

The O. J. Simpson murder and civil trials riveted the nation and much of the world for more than two years. Of tremendous scientific and pub lic interest was the gulf in attitudes, perceptions, and reactions to the not guilty verdict at the criminal trial. The collection of articl es in this issue of The Journal of Social Issues converged on the idea that race is an inadequate explanatory variable in understanding thes e differences in attitudes, perceptions, and reactions. Instead, race is a marker for a variety of cultural and experiential issues that aff ect cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes. This concluding ar ticle debunks simplistic ideas of race and points to the broader probl ems of racism and discrimination, criminal injustice, and violence in social relations. The article concludes with suggestions for future re search and a call for a broader transformation in societal institution s that affect the quality of social relations.