UDC grad making a difference for the LGBTQ+ community and people of color

Breanna Champion (she/her/they) is no stranger to fighting for what she believes is right. A Spring ‘22 graduate who identifies as queer, Champion has never stopped fighting for those needing support. Before transferring to UDC from Chicago, where she worked toward LGBTQ+ rights, she had already been on the front lines fighting against gun violence, mass incarceration and police brutality—taking her protest to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, at age 21.

At the time, Champion was a part of the We Charge Genocide collective of organizers that fought and represented young Black people tortured at the hands of the state. She presented a shadow report that outlined these abuses to the United Nations’ 53rd session Committee Against Torture. She was one of eight youth organizers selected to present the report. “We were a combination of different groups representing stories from around the country,” Champion said.  “We had many advisers, including Mariame Kaba, an activist, educator and grassroots organizer focused on dismantling the prison industrial complex and ending police violence.”

“I first became actively involved in eighth grade after a friend was murdered for his shoes while leaving another friend’s home,” Champion said. “The school I attended was in a white, affluent neighborhood. The kids weren’t dealing with the same things I was in my community. I wanted to raise awareness about gun violence.”

For the past seven years, she has been working on decriminalization efforts, campaigns to raise the minimum wage, voter engagement, police de-militarization and anti-torture.

Champion also actively supports UDC’s LGBTQ+ students. She served as the student liaison between the Center for Diversity, Inclusion & Multicultural Affairs (CDIMA) and The Alliance Group (T.A.G). She was also the inaugural student assistant for CDIMA.

For the past three years, Champion competed on the UDC team in the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge, a national academic quiz bowl competition for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This year, the UDC team made it to the top five teams in the country.

She was a member of the Psychology Honors Society and served as her chapter’s board member and social media chair.  Champion earned her B.S. in psychology from UDC and plans to become a clinical psychologist. She is applying to graduate school to earn her master’s.

Champion is deeply passionate about making a difference in moving society beyond gender discrimination and police brutality to a place of healing. She envisions her research as combining these interests by uncovering how therapy for Black LGBTQ+ and nonbinary youth may be expanded and made accessible.

She credits her experiences at UDC and CDIMA for strengthening her career direction, providing supportive mentors, and opportunities to serve.

“I’m proud of the work that we have done with CDIMA in supporting diverse students.”