S.I.S.T.E.R.S. member Taalia Whitehead waited excitedly Thursday evening for the start of the group’s 27th annual Tribute to Black Men.

“I am ecstatic, actually,” said Whitehead, a senior political science major and SISTERS vice president. “Every year it just seems to get better. It’s such a good event to me.”

A tribute to Luther Vandross, an awards ceremony and other forms of entertainment were a part of the event.

“I’m just proud of this organization,” said Helen Robinson, a 2003 alumna. Robinson said she is happy to see that S.I.S.T.E.R.S. has come such a long way. Others who attended said they felt the tribute was an all around good event.

Many people came to support the tribute, and while it wasn’t a standing room only situation, most of the chairs were filled. The tribute began at 7 p.m. in the Duke Ellington Ballroom of the Holmes Student Center and included many performances by various organizations around campus.

“I thought it was a great event,” said senior communication major Kenneth Daly. “Especially for black males. It was a good thing to see black males receiving these awards because it’s not something you would see every day.”

Daly was nominated for an award in the Up and Coming Leader category. Daly said he believed the tribute was good for the black community because it gave recognition to the positive black men on campus.

Present Perfect Modeling Organization, the African Student Association, Black Student Union and Elogeme Adolphi Sorority Inc. were among those to perform. The audience was entertained through poems, songs and dances by the organizations.

There was also a special tribute to honor the late Vandross.

“That just came up on a whim,” Whitehead said. “He was just such a positive role model in the black community that we felt it fitting to do a tribute to him tonight.” The audience was captivated by the Vandross tribute. Many people sang along to his songs as they played softly in the background.

A campus-wide nomination process produced a total of 31 nominees for last night’s event. The winning nominees were then placed into nine different categories: Selected Talent, Outstanding Greek, Outstanding Alumni, Campus Involvement, Athletic Achievement, Community Service, Outstanding Father, Up and Coming Leader and Outstanding Faculty.

“Blacks do support blacks,” said Kyle McGhee, a sophomore communication major and Selected Talent winner. “[This event] brings about unity among sisters and brothers on the campus,” McGhee said.

The audience couldn’t help but cheer for the winners as they were called onto the stage and handed a crystal trophy of appreciation. Many people said they came out to support not only S.I.S.T.E.R.S., but the black community as a whole.

“I think it is very important to let the black men who are doing something positive know that their actions don’t go unnoticed,” said freshman psychology major Monique Shelton,

Others shared similar sentiments.

“I think we got the message out there,” said Neecey Roney, president of S.I.S.T.E.R.S. and a senior kinesiology major. “I was happy with the outcome.”