"The verdict is in. The jury has spoken. The death of Diallo, a hard working African immigrant, was adjudged a terrible accident. Not murder, not manslaughter. Louima's assailant is in jail. Two of the officers who beat King went to prison. There have been commissions, investigations, demonstrations, public reaction, prater vigils, op-ed pieces, television segments, classroom dialogues. And so Americans ricochet from event to event, speaking of reasonable doubt and prosecutorial competence and ignoring the big picture, the real thing, the most important issue in this county that we try not to talk about. That is, race."(Anna Quindlen)…