Itanwa Orinwa 2023

Itanwa Orinwa (Our Story, Our Song) is a graduation ceremony dedicated to celebrating the achievements of Syracuse University graduates of color. ltanwa Orinwa was founded in 2002 at Syracuse University by a group of distinguished Black students.

The mission is to create an annual observance honoring all degree candidates who identify as being part of the African Diaspora. This includes, but is not exclusive to: African American, African, Caribbean and Latin students. The purpose of this celebration is to acknowledge the historical plight of our people’s pursuit to and through higher education systems, and to provide a historical voice and story that can be a legacy for generations to come.

This year’s keynote speaker is Sunny Hostin, attorney and three-time Emmy Award-winning legal journalist.

Degree recipients who would like to be honored during the ceremony, as well as faculty and staff who would like to process at the ceremony, are asked to complete the Itanwa Orinwa registration form by Wednesday, May 3. Non-degree recipients and all other attendees do not need to register.

About Sunny Hostin

Sunny Hostin is a three-time Emmy Award-winning legal journalist, former federal prosecutor, New York Times bestselling author, and co-host of The View. In May 2021, Hostin released her debut novel, Summer on the Bluffs (William Morrow), which skyrocketed to #11 on The New York Times Bestseller List. Drawing from elements of her own story, the book chronicles the escapades of a talented Afro-Latina lawyer with her god sisters in Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard, the most exclusive Black beach community in the country. The first book in her Summer trilogy is being adapted into a series as the first major project for Sunny Hostin Productions. In the fall of 2020, Hostin released her memoir, I Am These Truths: A Memoir of Identity, Justice, and Living Between Worlds (HarperOne), an introspective look into the challenges she faced while being raised by teenage parents in housing projects, the many obstacles she overcame to become a federal prosecutor, and her ultimate path to becoming an incredibly successful television journalist.

Last fall, Sunny announced the development of one-hour drama series The Counsel (Fox), which she is executive producing alongside Scott Free Productions and Universal Television. Written by Erica Shelton (The Good Wife), the project is inspired by Sunny’s own extraordinary political and personal experiences. In it, four thirtysomething women of color, who are leaders in their respective fields of journalism, law, politics and public relations, must rely on their lifelong friendship to overcome a scandal that threatens to unravel everything they’ve achieved.
In 2019, Sunny hosted and executive produced a six-episode documentary series, Truth About Murder with Sunny Hostin, on Investigation Discovery. The series explores the stories behind some of the nation’s most notorious homicides. Each episode, Sunny meets with forensic experts, law enforcement officials, prosecutors, defense attorneys and the families of each victim, showing viewers how cases are solved.

Originally from the South Bronx, Sunny’s longstanding commitment to social justice began at a young age. Growing up as the daughter of biracial parents, she faced the pressures of poverty and police harassment, and experienced firsthand the insidious workings of systemic racism. After graduating from Notre Dame Law School, Sunny began her career as an appellate law clerk and went on to become a trial attorney for the Justice Department and a federal prosecutor. During her time as Assistant U.S. Attorney, Sunny was awarded the “Special Achievement Award” by Attorney General Janet Reno for her prosecution of child sexual predators. Serving as a board member for Safe Horizon, she fought for the successful passage of the New York State Child Victims Act in 2019, making it easier for child sex abuse victims to seek justice as adults. An inescapable voice from the top echelons of news and entertainment, Sunny continues to use her platform to advocate for and give a voice to the marginalized.

A gifted storyteller, Sunny’s impressive depth of knowledge carries over to politics and the criminal justice system. She has brought clarity and context to some of the biggest stories of the past decade, including incisive political analysis of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and subsequent presidency, the college admission scandal, the George Zimmerman trial, the unrest in Ferguson and Baltimore, and the AME church shooting in Charleston. In May 2020, Sunny and a group of Black female activists penned an authoritative op-ed for The Washington Post urging presidential candidate Joe Biden to select a Black female vice-presidential candidate, ultimately predicting his selection of Kamala Harris. She has won two Emmys for her work as a correspondent for ABC’s Good Morning America, and one for her work as a correspondent for the ABC News Special, The President and the People. Hostin has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes Woman, Essence, Newsweek, The New York Post, Latina, and Ebony.

Hostin lives with her husband and two children in New York.

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