"We didn't clap when the acquittal of Simpson came for O.J.," said Sharpton, a civil rights activist. "We were clapping for Johnnie."

"We were clapping because for decades our brothers, our cousins, our uncles had to stand in the well with no one to stand up for them. And finally a black man came and said, 'If it don't fit - you must acquit,'" Sharpton said, referring to Cochran's famous quote from Simpson's sensational trial about a glove found at the murder scene.

The line drew a roar from the crowd, which also heard from other figures in Cochran's life, including two other members of the Simpson legal "dream team," Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck.