(The “People v OJ Simpson” got one minor detail wrong: In the show, he raises his right fist. As the Times explained:īefore the verdict was read, the same juror, Lionel Cryer, a 44-year-old black man, had smiled and winked at him.Īlso Read: 'People v OJ Simpson' Writers: Finale Is Tragic for Every Character But One “It was garbage in, garbage out,” said Cryer, a former Black Panther Party member who raised his left arm in a clenched-fist salute to Simpson as the panelists walked out of the courtroom on Tuesday. Here he is in the Washington Post, commenting on the prosecution’s case against OJ:

I’ll give you a minute to pick up your dropped jaw: Yes, there was an ex-Panther on the Simpson jury. His name was Lionel (Lon) Cryer, and as The New York Times reported, he was “a former Black Panther whom prosecutors had inexplicably left on the panel.” Yes, a juror really did give Simpson the raised fist as he left the courtroom. The juror’s salute was an unsubtle reminder of how much the case came to be about race. Fact Check.Īlso Read: 'People v OJ Simpson' Writers Explain 5 Things They Made Up Simpson a raised-fist “black power” salute moments after the not guilty verdict is delivered.ĭid it really happen? Yes - and the show left out an amazing detail about the juror. In one of the most shocking moments of “The People v OJ Simpson” finale, one of the African-American jurors gives O.J. (Spoiler alert: Maybe don’t read this if you haven’t watched the finale of FX’s “The People v OJ Simpson.”)

Power to the people fist