Black Students in Design (BSD) was created in recognition of the many barriers faced by Black students in the design and architecture fields.
Clara James is a recent graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture at the Daniels Faculty of Architecture Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto, Canada. In 2020 Clara founded Black Students in Design, a student-led community for Black students at Daniels. And with the support of the Daniels outreach office and her all Black executive team, Clara successfully developed and executed Building Black Success through Design – a mentorship program for Black high school students interested in design. During her time as a student she worked with the Student Equity Alliance and Equity Committee within the Daniels Faculty, fighting to address anti-Black Racism and equity. Since then, she’s worked in the school as an Assistant Studio Technologist helping students with any issues they might have. She is currently the Interim Coordinator of Public Programing and Outreach in the Outreach Office at Daniels. And when she can find the time, she is also a free-lance graphic designer.