In honor of Black Heritage Month, B.R.O.T.H.E.R.S. will host a Tribute to Black Women at 8 p.m. on Thursday at the Holmes Student Center’s Clara Sperling Skyroom.

“Tribute to Black Women is an event that recognizes minority women on campus that are doing something for the campus,” said Jonathan Harvey, president of B.R.O.T.H.E.R.S. “We give awards to people and student organizations.”

Seven awards will be given out based on GPA, community service projects and other events on campus.

In addition to the awards ceremony, speaking at the event are the co-founders of the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.S. organization at NIU.

One of the individuals recognized will be Lesley Clements of the University and Programming Activities office and the E.B.O.N.Y. Women student organization.

“I was surprised and honored,” Clements said about her recognition. “It feels important to see students recognize the work you do in the office. It makes it more special because these are students and not your peers.”

Elektra Thompson, president of E.B.O.N.Y. Women, thinks that the recognition is meaningful to the organization.

“It seems like they see what we are trying to provide for the NIU campus. We need the feedback and we need the motivation to do a bigger and better program,” Thompson said.

B.R.O.T.H.E.R.S. has been hosting the event for the past few years, and one of the reasons is because it is one of the beliefs of the organization.

“One of our mottos is that we protect and respect the black women, our shining black queens, who are the front-line soldiers of our struggle,” Harvey said.