Life comes at you fast.
On the most recent episode of Finding Your Roots on PBS, Hostin, who identifies as “Afro-Latino”, was told that she is only 7 percent indigenous Puerto Rican and that her ancestors were slave traders from Europe.
“Our researchers discovered that her third great-grandfather, Fermín, was the son of a merchant who was likely involved in the slave trade, and Fermín himself owned at least one human being,” explained Gates Jr. “What’s more, moving back on this line, we found that it originates in Galicia, Spain — evidence of Sunny’s deeper ancestry and her family ties to Spain’s colonial past.”
This week’s #FindingYourRoots guest, #SunnyHostin shares how her politically-active parents inspired her to want to make an impact on the world from a young age.
— Henry Louis Gates Jr (@HenryLouisGates) February 6, 2024
Tune in tonight for the all-new episode of #FindingYourRoots featuring Sunny Hostin at 8/7c only on @pbs! pic.twitter.com/pEynl51p18
When asked about her tangible connection to Europe and slave traders, Hostin said, “I’m a little bit in shock. I just always thought of myself as Puerto Rican, you know, half Puerto Rican. I didn’t think my family was originally from Spain and slaveholders.”
Remarkably, Hostin claims that she still deserves reparations, despite being descended from slaveholders.
“I still believe in reparations, by the way. So, y’all can stop texting me and emailing me and saying that I’m a White girl and I don’t deserve reparations!” Hostin said on The View this week.
Hostin added, “I still believe in reparations. I still believe this country has a lot to do in terms of racial justice.”
Despite initially feeling “deeply disappointed” at the revelations, Hostin said that she now feels “enriched” knowing her family’s history.
“I’m enriched by knowing that my family has come so far from being enslavers to my mother marrying my father in 1968,” Hostin said.
“You’re not responsible for what they did,” Behar responded.