“The View” host Sunny Hostin was shocked to discover her family's hidden history in a new episode of the PBS documentary, “Finding Your Roots.”
The documentary program investigates the family histories of prominent figures through historical records and DNA testing. On the February 6 episode, host Henry Louis Gates Jr. revealed that one of Hostin's ancestors on his maternal side was likely involved in the slave trade in colonial Spain.
His third great-grandfather also “owned at least one human being,” he said.
Hostin, whose mother is Puerto Rican and father is black, confessed that the revelation left her “shocked.”
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“The View” host Sunny Hostin was shocked to learn about her family's history in the slave trade on the PBS show, “Finding Your Roots.” (PBS/Screenshot)
“Wow, I'm a little shocked. I always considered myself half Puerto Rican. I didn't think my family was originally from Spain and slave owners,” she said.
She shared that her husband Manny's family is also from Spain, so they have that in common.
“I think it's actually pretty interesting that my husband and I have shared roots, so I appreciate that, and I think it's great that our kids know this information. I guess it's a fact of life that this is how some people made their life”. living at the expense of others,” she continued.
Hostin's family tree and his own DNA revealed even deeper ties to Spain, which surprised Hostin even more.
“I had no idea about the Spanish roots to that extent. I'm still a little surprised by the depth of the ties,” she said.
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Sunny Hostin was “disappointed” to learn that her family was descended from slavers. (PBS/Screenshot)
Gates taunted Hostin by telling him that the white side of his family had to have “come from somewhere”, before jokingly asking him what he had against Spain.
“Just the colonization of other people,” Hostin replied with a smile before becoming more somber. “Actually, I'm surprised they were enslavers. That's disappointing.”
Hostin went on to say that her mother “certainly identifies as Puerto Rican and not white, actually.”
“So I hate this for her,” he said, laughing.
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“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin also learned about her third great-grandfather from her father, who was likely born into slavery. (Screenshot/ABC/TheView)
Early in the show, Hostin explained how her mother was very politically active and often took her to protests as a child, which shaped Hostin's concerns about social justice.
“The View” host received happier news later in the show. Gates gave him his third great-grandfather's Georgia voter registration card from 1867. The show's host said Hostin's ancestor was probably born as a slave in 1835.
“Wow, that's great,” she said, admitting she was moved by the news. She wiped away tears and commented cheerfully, “That's amazing. In 1867 registering to vote…that's amazing.”
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