An important distinction to make is that these apology bills speak on behalf of the governmental entity issuing them, not individuals, so the people who say "my gggrandaddy didn't come over from Italy until 1900, why should I apologize" are getting upset over nothing. The Missouri legislature had an apology bill that has died in committee the past two years. Our local legislator came out strongly against it, raising the bogeyman of reparations, i.e., if the State of Missouri apologizes it will be an admission of guilt and we might be liable for reparations. This is nonsense. First, slave reparations lawsuits have been shot down in every court that has heard them - lawsuits over civil rights violations where the survivors or their spouses (in the case of those murdered) are still alive would have a better chance of success. Second, even if such suits were legally viable, the plaintiffs wouldn't need a confession in the form of an apology to make their case - the proof is on the statute books and in the Constitution not to mention countless diaries, newspapapers, letters, etc...

The only way slave reparations will ever happen is if it is done voluntarily by government or corporate entitities (such as Germany has done with Holocaust survivors). The reparations that were paid to survivors of the Japanese-American internment camps and Rosewood race riots were not court ordered, but rather were voluntarily made by the government to actual survivors. What is the recent poll, that something like 50% of blacks think some form of reparations are a good idea while something like 90% of whites thank they aren't? Even if you could get a bill for reparations to advance in Congress, it would likely die a fast death in the bickering that would ensue over what form reparations should take, who should benefit, etc... Incidently, people who talk seriously about reparations usually aren't saying they should take the form of a check to individuals. Rather, they propose establishing scholarships and other programs to help economically disadvantaged people develop economically viable skills.