DeKALB | For 31 years, S.I.S.T.E.R.S. has been an organization for black female students to come together for their own betterment.

S.I.S.T.E.R.S. — Sisters Interacting Soulfully through Thoughts, Emotions and Realism to attain Self-awareness — is involved in at least one community service project each month and brings events to campus throughout the semester. All events are free and open to everyone.

One such event is Pink and Black Week.

“Pink and black are our colors. Pink is for womanliness and black is for our culture and if you bring them both together, it shows that we are women first and we have a strong cultural background,” said president Regina Johnson. “It’s just a week for women and culture and everybody’s culture coming together to celebrate throughout that week.”

During Pink and Black Week, S.I.S.T.E.R.S. hosts its annual Tribute to Black Men. This is the 28th year of the event.

“Back on campus [28 years ago] there was really no acknowledgment for black men, and as an African-American women’s organization we wanted to reach out to some of our African-American men and have a tribute to them because a lot of them were doing great things and accomplishing a lot,” Johnson said.

The Tribute to Black Men is a formal awards ceremony where the organization presents outstanding black students and faculty with awards such as “Up-and-Coming Leader,” “Outstanding Greek” and “Outstanding Faculty.”

During Pink and Black Week, S.I.S.T.E.R.S. also recruits new students to join the organization.

“It builds characteristics within yourself,” said Dominique Wheatley, birthday chair for S.I.S.T.E.R.S. “It helps to build up yourself so that when you go into the real world, you know how to act and it helps you to maintain class. We are very supportive of each other.”