Race is an integral element of the film, most notably because O is the only person of color shown to attend Palmetto Grove High School. In Shakespeare's original play, Othello, the titular lead character, is known as the "moor of Venice." The term "moor," at this point in English history, had evolved to (somewhat derogatorily) refer to non-white, non-Europeans. As such, contemporary productions of Othello traditionally cast a Black man in the role, as the film does with its star, Mekhi Phifer.
In O, blackness and race are central aspects of O's identity, especially from the perspective of white authority figures. When Dean Brable interrogates O about the lie Roger told him regarding O and Desi, he implies that O uses drugs or is otherwise involved in crime. Ironically, it is Hugo who uses performance-enhancing steroids, which the audience discovers in the next scene. This moment suggests that Dean Brable makes assumptions about O based on his race, though this perspective is never explicitly mentioned. Indeed, few characters make race an explicit topic of conversation. The only time a character mentions racism in the film is when Desi asks Emily if she would still be scrutinizing O if he were white. This exchange helps develop the conflict of the story, as it simultaneously highlight's Emily's inherent bias toward O while also showcasing Desi's naivete, as what O did to her was indisputably wrong.
Finally, the film centralizes blackness through its artistic elements, specifically through its soundtrack. The modern soundtrack is comprised of a number of contemporary rap and hip-hop songs, one of which celebrates blackness explicitly as a source of pride and power. This song plays while O is at the height of his basketball career, and in many ways represents the apex of his character's trajectory: he is successful, beloved, and Black, and the alignment of these virtues is expressed through the celebratory and optimistic song. However, after this scene, O's fortune starts to shift as Hugo gets more involved in his life, suggesting on one level that O's celebrity and his blackness are, from Hugo's perspective, incongruous.
