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Office of Black Student Affairs (OBSA)

The Office of Black Student Affairs (OBSA) is a cultural center and service unit within The Claremont Colleges Services. On behalf of The Claremont Colleges, OBSA is dedicated to providing support, resources and space for students of African descent to feel safe, valued, informed and connected. OBSA offers a range of programming on behalf of enrolled 7C students of African descent, faculty, staff and allies. Our key service areas include identity-based workshops, skill building activities, mentoring, arts engagement activities, student organizational support, professional/career development workshops, the sharing of 7C resources and referrals, heritage-month programming and other celebrations, and collaborative partnerships with 7C colleges, departments and organizations. Students, faculty, staff, alumni and visitors can access OBSA staff during business hours: and remotely by appointment. See below for OBSA’s swipe access and space use information.

Contact OBSA

Phone | (909) 607-3669
Email | obsa@claremont.edu
Office Hours | Monday-Thursday 9am – 4:30pm
Remote Hours | Friday 9am – 4:30pm by appt.

Office of Black Student Affairs
139 E. Seventh St.
Claremont, CA, 91711

Downloadable OBSA Fact Sheet PDF
Sign Up for the OBSA Newsletter

Annual Programs and Events

OBSA Peer Mentorship

5 College Peer Mentorship

OBSA Alumni-Student Mentoring

7 College Black Alumni Brunch

Black History Month

Black Grad

Black Graduation

Black Grad

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration

Black Intersections Conference

Black Alternabreak

Key Services

We stand with the global protests against police brutality and in support of Black lives. We hope all who choose to participate in protests in person are able to preserve their safety and are connected to avenues for relief and legal information. For those sharing information and engaging in discussions, please be mindful of sources interchangeably linking protesting to violence and looting with intention to discredit the aims of the movement. Consider the ways in which Black people engaging in any form of protest are and historically have been over policed, surveilled and the target of violent reprisal from police and civilian forces. If you’re participating in discussions with others around the Black Lives Matter movement, read the publicly accessible information about the organizations’ platform (blacklivesmatter.org) as well as the numerous organizations mobilizing on behalf of Black lives through activism, litigation, monitoring hate groups and sharing resources (Southern Poverty Law center, splcenter.org).

Learn the ways media and other institutions consistently underline white supremacist rthetoric while supporting sensationalist misrepresentations of Black people in general, particularly those who engage in uprisings against oppressive regimes. OBSA supports a nuanced and contextual understanding of global anti-blackness and the ways police and the military are deployed as part of a larger project of Black subjugation.

We are committed to the safety and well-being of our community members and stand in solidarity with those involved in justice movements. We call for an end to state sanctioned genocide, unjust deaths and lack of legal recourse perpetuated against Black people.

In solidarity,

Lydia Middleton, Dean of Black Student Affairs
On behalf of OBSA

Stay up to date with OBSA by reading our newsletter. The publication informs our communities about upcoming events, fellowships and jobs, features special initiatives and partnerships, and highlights a range of student-centered opportunities across the 7 colleges.

To read OBSA’s resent 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 printed copies are made available to participants in the OBSA Mentorship Program.

BlackBook 2023

BlackBook 2019-2020

BlackBook 2018-2019

BlackBook 2017-2018

OBSA is pleased to partner with the folowing groups and departments to broaden the experience for The Claremont Colleges Students.

OBSA Affiliations

Faculty

Alumni

Student Organizations

Administrative Departments

  • Chicano Latino Student Affairs (TCCS/7C)
  • CARE Center (Claremont McKenna College)
  • Queer Resource Center (lead campus Pomona College)
  • Scripps Communities of Resources and Empowerment
  • Office of Institutional Diversity (Harvey Mudd College)
  • Draper Center for Community Partnerships (Pomona College)
  • Student Life, Diversity and Leadership (Claremont Graduate University)
  • Monsour Counseling and Psychological Services
  • Scripps Public Events and Community Programs

Community

Departments and Organizations

If you are from an office or department that wishes to collaborate with OBSA or request a workshop facilitated by our staff, we have developed a set of guidelines to assist in this process. Please see the attached OBSA Workshop Request Procedure to learn more, and arrange a time to talk with our staff about your initiative. Please email completed requests to our office.

Faculty

Are you a faculty member who wants to get involved with OBSA to connect students to your scholarship or other opportunities? Read our letter to faculty and learn more about how OBSA plans to incorporate and highlight the work of faculty that connects students to learning, mentoring, research and other educational opportunities from various 7C academic departments. Click here to complete our faculty outreach survey!

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.

Upcoming Events