d seems to involve the average citizen instead of just the "experts" in economics or sociology or politics. Why is the Simpson case a concrete example of the exposure of hidden racism described by Baldwin? It is because Simpson is a prime example of a black man who has submerged his rage behind a public mask of harmless affability. Simpson---prior to the murders---fulfilled the need of whites to believe that impoverished blacks can achieve the American Dream, as Simpson did. Simpson also embodied the notion of the strong black male who was not a threat, who was amiable, who was grateful for what the American system had given him through talent and hard work. Baldwin writes of the white man that "he is inescapably aware
. . . that he is in a better position in the world then black men are, nor can he quite put to death the suspicion that he is hated by black men therefore" (Baldwin 166). Simpson, however, is a black man who
...