Follow up about blacks and Republicans

I just read a column by Colbert King. In it, he cites a Republican delegate in the Virginia House of Delegates as saying, "that instead of seeking a formal apology from the commonwealth for slavery, 'black citizens should get over it.'" Colbert also writes,

Hargrove was correct when he told the House of Delegates on Tuesday that "not a soul in this legislature" had anything to do with slavery. It was before their time. But Virginia's shameful history on race is not limited to slavery.

King then points out that, at 80, Hargrove was certainly around for the Jim Crow actions of the state that continued through the 1970s. As King acknowledges later on, he's not even sure whether an apology is worth the trouble. But any reasonable person has to ask themselves why so many Republicans continue to be so offensive when it comes to blacks in this country. In order to win black votes, in order to be a "big-tent" party, it would seem that, at a minimum, Republicans should, at least, stop insulting blacks.

However, I will argue that I don't see why it's so hard for governments in this country to make this apology. It's not as if the federal or state governments have never apologized for anything else. This would certainly not be setting a precedent. I've heard arguments that an apology opens up a government to a lawsuit, but I think that is just an excuse (in fact, there are reasons that that is not even a reasonable worry). To take this a step further, why should governments not be liable for what happened? I'm not referring to slavery because those people are long gone. I'm referring to Jim Crow laws. Aren't reparations due to all black Americans who suffered under those laws?

Japanese Americans who were placed in internment camps during World War II were given reparations. Blacks suffered much more recently, and for a far longer period of time, than Japanese Americans. Moreover, the oppression of black Americans was clearly illegal and, in many states, such oppressive laws did not exist. So, what's the difference? Do we, as a country, feel OK with making reparations to Japanese Americans but not to black Americans? I cannot see any logical reason to deny reparations to Black Americans who were alive, say, prior to 1980. The only difference appears to be the depth of white America's racism -- people are less racist toward Asian Americans than to Black Americans.

As a final note, I want to point out that Virginia, despite Hargrove, has actually made progress in the idea of reparations for some Jim Crow stuff, specifically for paying for education for blacks that lived in counties that shut down their school systems rather than integrate, leaving such blacks with no education whatsoever. Unfortunately, these reparations are only for very specific, definable things, which denies the totality of the oppression suffered. So, to Hargrove, I ask: How are black Americans EVER supposed to get over any of this when such inequities, and such attitudes as yours, continue?