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That last sentence is a very smart, thoughtful and (most important) accurate response to what is a good and fair question. Good for Gillibrand.
I’ve discussed this in the past, but conservatives used to be more attuned to the way institutions concretize in a certain environment and then stay that way. Also, when institutions are dissolved, who and what takes their place is crucial. (Think Russia post-1991.)
Here’s how I put it in 2014 after TNC’s Atlantic cover story on reparations: 
I then quoted Acemoglu and Robinson: “Plantation-type agriculture based on low-wage, poorly educated labor persisted, and southern incomes fell further relative to the U.S. average. The vicious circle of extractive institutions was stronger than many had expected at the time.”
My broader point (I wrote this at Commentary):
However, I wrote: the specificity of antiblack institutional racism also should be seen as a rebuke to liberals who coopt it to tether to whatever issue of the day. This liberal tendency, I pointed out, is a *continuation* of white exploitation, not its solution.
In addition, corrective interventions must be taken carefully: the solution to redlining turned out to be an overcorrection that burdened new homeowners before the housing bubble burst.
And this is also why school choice should be a no-brainer. No, it doesn’t solve everything. But when you talk about a legacy of geographic isolation, letting families choose where to send their kids to school is a moral imperative.
Finally, I wrote, TNC was on his weakest ground when indicting the American *idea*. His cherry-picking did not add up to what historians of slavery said it did, b/c those historians understood slavery was as much an assault on those founding ideals and economic principles:
Thank you for coming to my Ted talk entitled “How to talk about race in a way that pisses off literally everyone and then go watch baseball.”
I like to do this on twitter because race is a complex, nuanced topic so this is the place for it.
On the other hand, this is a convincing rebuttal. I’ll have to think about this. Thank you for engaging.
