'Still believe in reparations’: ‘The View’ host Sunny Hostin reflects on family's slave-owning ancestry

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Co-host Sunny Hostin discussed learning recently of the possibility of her ancestors being slave owners, with co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Joy Behar, and Alyssa Farah Griffin on the February 8 episode of 'The View'.

Hostin made the discovery during her appearance on the PBS documentary show 'Finding Your Roots' with host Henry Louis Gates Jr. He revealed that one of Hostin's ancestors on the maternal side was likely involved in the slave trade in colonial Spain and “owned at least one human being,” reported the New York Post.

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Sunny Hostin's remarks on startling discovery

While she initially felt "deeply disappointed" with the newfound knowledge, Hostin shared that she later felt “enriched” after 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,” she said, as Behar expressed, "You’re not responsible for what they did."

Hostin did maintain her stance on reparations, as she stated, "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!”

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“I still believe in reparations. I still believe this country has a lot to do in terms of racial justice," she added.

Sunny Hostin reveals her mother's reaction

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Speaking of how her mother took the revelations, Hostin said, "She was deeply disappointed. She actually cried about it. And then she said maybe that’s why I have been so connected to Black culture because it’s an atonement in my spirit. And I received that. I also found out – and there were slaves on both sides of our family, mother’s and father’s. But we are seven percent indigenous Puerto Rican!”

The findings proved that her mother was "White," argued Hostin, even though the woman strongly "identified as Puerto Rican” prior to the discovery.

“It’s deeply disappointing because my mother really identified as Puerto Rican. She was part of the civil rights movement, and she was deeply ingrained in Black culture, and identified herself as Black race, but Hispanic for ethnicity… but her race is White. She’s European. I know,” she shared.

“It’s weird because when you look at her, my mother is blond, and she has light eyes and my whole family looks like that. So, I think inside I sort of knew this was my history and that’s probably why I didn’t want to do it (go on the show)."

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