Office of Black Student Affairs (OBSA)
Contact OBSA
Phone | (909) 607-3669
Email | obsa@claremont.edu
Office Hours | Monday-Friday 9am – 4:30pm and by appointment
Office of Black Student Affairs
139 E. Seventh St.
Claremont, CA, 91711
Annual Programs and Events
5 College Peer Mentorship
Black
Graduation
Graduate Student Support
7C Black Alumni Engagment
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration
Undergraduate/5C Student Support
Black History
Month
Black
Alternabreak
OBSA and Africana Studies
Upcoming Events
Key Services
OBSA engages student artist communities at the seven colleges by:
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- offering applicant-based grant support for students who participate in creative projects at the colleges
- offering partial funding to student-organizations who plan community-wide art festivals, performances, workshops and more across media.
- student artists are invited to apply and be provided a stipend to exhibit their unique works in OBSA (application now closed and will reopen in September 2025).
- Following the October gallery exhibition wine and cheese event, the seven artists showing work in the center have work on view through May 2025. Their work is also available to view online, with select items for purchase are available in the official OBSA Artist Brochure. To purchase an item or make an offer, email OBSA. All proceeds from the sale of art go directly to artists.
- highlighting student creatives on OBSA’s social platforms and in newsletters
OBSA partners with Benton Museum to offer artist receptions and talkbacks, a special salon series event during Black History month, and cross marketing Benton exhibitions, workshops and other events to OBSA’s communities. We have also partnered with Queer Resource Center, Scripps SCORE and Monsour Counseling Center for workshops centering artmaking and wellness.
OBSA partners with Monsour Counseling and Pyschological Services yearly to host weekly drop in hours with MCAPS Senior staff therapist, Dr. Adrienne Hilliard. We’ve expanded these wellness checks to include a series of workshops and wellness-based engagement events called “Wellness, for Us,” tailored to communities of African descent, that include:
- Emotional wellness workshops featuring art therapy and healing practices, co facilitated by Dr. A
- Physical wellness workshops including health education, yoga, relaxation and meditation
- Financial wellness workshops facilitated by Claremont Colleges staff and faculty, in partnership with CLSA
OBSA’s calendar features events tagged Wellness, for Us events, registration required. Events are also available on Engage.
Stay up to date with OBSA by reading our monthly magazine. The publication updates communities across the colleges about OBSA’s upcoming events and facility features, local and national fellowships and jobs, OBSA’s special initiatives and partnerships, celebrates Black students’ academic and co-curricular accomplishments, and highlights a range of additional student-centered opportunities across the 7 colleges.
To read OBSA’s RECENT newsletters, visit our Linktree
Each year, OBSA publishes The Black Book to assist students in identifying essential services and faculty and staff of African descent at The Claremont Colleges. The Black Book supports students in connecting to communities of African descent at The Claremont Colleges and beyond, including listings of local Black owned and Black Alumni-owned businesses. Students can easily locate and access health and wellness related services, as well as shared service resources across the colleges.
The book is updated yearly and shared online.
OBSA offers students, faculty and staff enrolled and/or employed at The Colleges permission to use the center after hours (swipe access is available M-F, 7am-11pm and reservations can be made for weekend use). The OBSA main house is open to the public M-Th, 9am-12pm and 1pm-4:30pm.
OBSA’s conference room (main house) and bungalow (back house) are available by card swipe access for students, faculty and staff after hours by request using our access form.
The general public may not use OBSA’s facilities without written request to obsa@claremont.edu, certain conditions apply.