Sunny Hostin, a co-host on "The View," asserted on Wednesday that congressional hearings examining the Smithsonian Institution are fundamentally driven by the Trump administration's desire to prevent reparations for Black Americans. The hearings, which have scrutinized the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, follow a White House report labeling the institution as a taxpayer-backed entity captured by "ideological" and "extreme political activism."
Hostin stated that the core issue is "financial repair to the descendants of the enslaved Africans," elaborating that she believes this reflects a broader strategy by the Trump administration to alter the national narrative and thus avoid compensating Black individuals for their unpaid labor. "I think this reflects a broad effort by the Trump Administration to reshape the way the nation’s history is told, so this country does not have to pay Black people for the forced labor and the unpaid labor that built this country," Hostin said.
She drew parallels to truth and reconciliation commissions established for other aggrieved groups, such as interned Japanese Americans, Holocaust survivors, and Native Americans, noting the absence of such a commission for slavery. Hostin argued that without acknowledging the truth of slavery, genuine reconciliation and financial repair are impossible, suggesting that attempts are being made to suppress this historical truth.
Hostin referenced a 2026 United Nations General Assembly vote where the U.S. voted against a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade a crime against humanity. She quoted Ambassador Dan Negrea, the U.S. representative to the UN Economic and Social Council, who stated that the U.S. "does not recognize a legal right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time they occurred." Hostin concluded, "And so what this is about is money. This is not about anything else. It’s about this country trying to avoid paying African Americans our due."
During an appearance on the PBS documentary "Finding Your Roots" in 2024, Hostin discovered that one of her ancestors on her maternal side was likely involved in the slave trade in colonial Spain and owned at least one enslaved person. Hostin, whose mother is Puerto Rican and father is Black, described the revelation as shocking, noting her surprise at her family's historical ties to slaveholding. She shared that her husband also has Spanish roots, finding the shared heritage interesting and valuable for their children to know.