Black History Month One-On-One: Attorney & Journalist Sunny Hostin
Anchored by 1010 WINS' Larry Mullins
Produced for 1010 WINS by Sharon Barnes-Waters
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Black History Month honoree Sunny Hostin is an attorney and multi-platform journalist.
The Bronx native works as the senior legal correspondent for ABS News and co-host for "The View."
"I will tell you I had the benefit of parents who believed deeply in my ability. And they were teenagers when they had me, they were teenagers when they got married, but they instilled in me that you can do anything and that brains were most important, that passion was important, and drive," she tells 1010 WINS' Larry Mullins.
More: Larry's Blog: Sunny Hostin | Black History Month Photo Gallery
She says her mother always wanted to be a lawyer and planted the seed in her mind at a young age. Then, she witnessed her uncle get stabbed.
"He survived, but I remember thinking, 'This is wrong,'" she says. "I remember how the police treated our family. I remember how the person got away with it.
"And I remember thinking, 'I've got to do something to help.' And I also remember thinking, 'I don't want to live this life.' And it really pushed me to succeed academically, and it pushed me to realize of the dream of being able to be the voice of a community."
Hostin attended an all-girls prep school, then Binghamton University and Notre Dam
Went to an all girls prep school, then on to Binghamton U on scholarship, Notre Dame on scholarships.
"It's such an honor to be able to consume that kind of education. Let's remember, you know, people didn't want us to study, people didn't want us to know how to read, they didn't want us to be educated. So I've always loved it," she says.
Her mother is Puerto Rican and her father is African-America, which she says was difficult growing up in the 1960s.
"I'm really lucky that I was able to sort of forge an identity. When you're biracial, people sort of make you gray -- you're not black, you're not white, you're sort of gray, you're other. And I'm fortunate to have parents that were strong enough to say you're not other you're special," she says.
What's it like working on "The View?"
"We debate, and I think our country needs more of that right now – people that can sit around a table, that are different – very different -- have differences of opinion, but can do it in a respectful way," she says. "And I think at the end of the day, leave the table still friends."
How did she transition from a courthouse onto television?
"It's not something I sought out, I fell into it," she says. "I was like, 'It's not going to turn into anything,' and that was 10 years ago."
Last year, she paid a special visit to Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
"I was so troubled by what I saw, because this is a United States territory, and we have such incredible resources – the United States government – and I didn't see those there," she says. "But what I did see was the strength of the Puerto Rican people."
"There is hope there," she adds.
What message does she have for her young fans?
"If I can sit on national television and people are listening to what I think, anyone can do anything," she says.
Hostin says these days she's working on documentaries with "20/20" and writing a book. She also says she would love to get back in a courtroom, possibly even in politics.