I didn't understand the message

Just kidding. The message was as obvious as a baseball bat to the head. The message was beaten. To. Death. Flogged until there was nothing left to ponder. Subtlety never stood a chance. And if it ever did, certainly the film's coda stifled it's last dying breaths.

Damn shame. Could have been an interesting period piece about an extraordinarily fascinating police investigation, leaving the audience with something more important to think about, and surely more nuanced, than racism is bad and racism exists. Duh. Got it. Thanks, Spike.