Sunny Hostin has gained a new perspective on her past.
On the latest episode of Finding Your Roots on PBS, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. revealed that Hostin is only 7 percent indigenous Puerto Rican and that her ancestors "likely" owned slaves.
O my people! I truly fear for you the Day all will be crying out ˹to each other˺—(The Quran - Chapter Ghafir : 32)
"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 Spain," Hostin noted that her husband, Emmanuel “Manny” Hostin, is part Spanish and part Haitian.
"I'm a little bit in shock," she continued. "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." Hostin said that she thinks it is "great" that she can also share this information with her kids.
“I think it’s actually pretty interesting that my husband and I have shared roots, so I do appreciate that, and I think it’s great for our children to know this information. I guess it’s a fact of life that this is how some people made their living, on the backs of others," the television personality said.
Elsewhere in the episode, The View co-host learned that her third-great grandfather from her dad's side was born into slavery in 1835.
Learning and talking about her past is something Hostin has often been vocal about. Apart from writing the 2020 memoir, I Am These Truths: A Memoir of Identity, Justice, and Living Between Worlds, Hostin opened up about being Afro-Latino in February 2022.
"I admire that there are folks, especially in media, as well as film, that are representing their Blackness and embracing it. That's something that has just happened [in] my view in the past few years. And what's nice is I'm tired of being alone in that," she told PEOPLE. I'm no longer alone and it's because of young people like Ariana [DeBose].
