Office of Black Student Affairs - The Claremont Colleges Services

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. We offer gathering and collaboration space as well as after hours access. See Key Services below for OBSA’s swipe access and facility use information.

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

OBSA’s Student Emergency Fund

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’s Student Art and Artist Engagement Projects

OBSA engages student artist communities at the seven colleges by:

- supporting the development of a 100% student generated fashion, culture and lifetsyle magazine, Blaremont Mag, exploring Black student perspectives, personas and passions (all images and features are of Claremont Colleges students, by an OBSA fellow enrolled at Pitzer College).

- - 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's Wellness, For Us Series

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.

OBSA Newsletters

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

OBSA's Black Book

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.

Black Book 2024

OBSA Swipe Access and Space Use

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.