Kina Isis Collins is an American

community organizer Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. Unlike those who promote more-consensual community bui ...

and activist, whose work has focused on issues of

gun violence Gun-related violence is violence committed with the use of a firearm. Gun-related violence may or may not be considered criminal. Criminal violence includes homicide (except when and where ruled justifiable), assault with a deadly weapon, a ...

criminal justice reform Criminal justice reform addresses structural issues in Criminal justice, criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. Criminal justice reform can take place at any poi ...

, and

universal healthcare Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...

. Collins was a candidate in the 2022 U.S. House election for

Illinois' 7th congressional district The 7th congressional district of Illinois covers parts of Cook County, as of the 2011 redistricting that followed the 2010 census. All or parts of Bellwood, Chicago, Forest Park, Oak Park, Maywood, and Westchester are included. Democrat Da ...

Democratic primary, and was previously a primary candidate for the same seat in the 2020 election.

Early life and education

Collins was born and raised in the

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

neighborhood on the

West Side West Side or Westside may refer to: Places Canada * West Side, a neighbourhood of Windsor, Ontario * West Side, a neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia United Kingdom * West Side, Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Westside, Birmingham E ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. She was a student in the

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles. ...

system, during which time she served as a Summer of Service Learning Ambassador. She attended

Carthage College Carthage College is a private college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and located in Kenosha, Wisconsin. It enrolls 2,600 full-time and 200 part-time students. Carthage awards bachelor's degrees with majors in more th ...

and

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

, where she studied international political economy and

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

respectively.

Activism and career

Community organizing and non-profit work

From 2015 to 2017, Collins worked as a regional organizer from Louisiana for

Generation Progress Generation Progress is a youth-centered research and advocacy group that promotes progressive political and social policy through support for young people, students, and activists in the United States. Generation Progress is the youth engagement a ...

, a youth-centered research and advocacy group formed under the

Center for American Progress The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy research and advocacy organization which presents a liberal viewpoint on economic and social issues. It has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The president and chief executive officer ...

. During 2016–17, she was selected as a member of Generation Progress' #Fight4AFuture National Leadership Council, which developed campaigns on gun violence prevention and criminal justice reform. In 2017, she founded an organization called the Chicago Neighborhood Alliance, with the goal of empowering activists to end gun violence in Chicago through civic engagement. From 2018 to 2019, she worked as a national organizer for

Physicians for a National Health Program Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) is an advocacy organization of more than 20,000 American physicians, medical students, and health professionals that supports a universal, comprehensive single-payer national health insurance program. ...

. As of 2020, she serves as the Executive Director of the Gun Violence Prevention Education Center and Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, a statewide organization focused on gun violence prevention.

Electoral politics and government

Collins was a staff member in

J. B. Pritzker Jay Robert "J. B." Pritzker (born January 19, 1965) is an American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, and politician serving as the List of governors of Illinois, 43rd governor of Illinois since 2019. A member of the wealthy Pritzker fami ...

's campaign for governor of Illinois in 2018, but resigned after recordings of conversations between Pritzker and

Rod Blagojevich Rod Blagojevich ( , born December 10, 1956), often referred to by his nicknames "Blago" or "B-Rod", is an American former politician, political commentator, and convicted felon who served as the 40th governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009, when ...

in 2009 where Pritzker made racially insensitive remarks were publicly released. Later in that election cycle, she served as the political director for Sameena Mustafa's unsuccessful campaign for Illinois' 5th congressional district. In 2018, Collins co-authored the Illinois Council on Women and Girls Act, which created a council to advise the governor and state lawmakers on issues concerning women and girls. She served as the Council's inaugural chairwoman. During her tenure as the Council's chair, Collins was also selected by

Chicago City Clerk The City Clerk of Chicago is in charge of record-keeping for the city of Chicago and its elections. When the Chicago City Council is in session, the City Clerk serves as council secretary. This position is a citywide elected office, one of three ...

Anna Valencia to serve on the Status of Women and Girls in Chicago working group. During the

2019 Chicago aldermanic election The 2019 Chicago aldermanic election took place in two rounds on February 26 and April 2, 2019, to elect 50 aldermen to the Chicago City Council. Each alderman represents one of Chicago's 50 wards. The elections are non-partisan and use a two-ro ...

, Collins helped form a coalition of organizations called Brand New Council, which aimed to elect

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

candidates of color to

Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mont ...

. The coalition endorsed 16 candidates and worked to register new voters.

Recognition

She received the Vernita Grey Community Activist Award from the Chicago chapter of the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

in 2018.

Candidacy for Congress

2020 election

Collins announced her candidacy for U.S. Representative from Illinois' 7th congressional district on May 13, 2019. She challenged incumbent congressman

Danny K. Davis Daniel K. Davis (born September 6, 1941) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative from , elected in 1996. The district serves much of western Chicago, including the Loop. It also includes several of Chicago's inner western suburb ...

in the Democratic Party primary election for the seat in March 2020, in addition to two other challengers, Anthony Clark and Kristine Schanbacher. Collins highlighted single-payer healthcare, research and resources for gun violence prevention, and criminal justice reform as her three top priorities if elected. She received endorsements from several local officials, including

Chicago alderman The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mont ...

Jeanette Taylor Jeanette Beatrice Taylor (born May 16, 1975) is an American politician and community organizer. Taylor is the alderman of Chicago, Illinois' 20th ward, taking office as a member of the Chicago City Council in May 2019. She won an open race to succ ...

Illinois House The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 repr ...

Representative

Anna Moeller Anna Moeller is a member of the Illinois House of Representatives who was sworn in March 31, 2014. She previously served on the Elgin City Council and as Executive Director of the McHenry County Council of Governments. She was named an Edgar Fel ...

, two Oak Park village trustees, two River Forest village trustees, and two local school board members. She was also endorsed by several organizations including the

Center for Popular Democracy The Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) is an American advocacy group that promotes progressive politics. CPD is a federation of groups that includes some of the old chapters of ACORN. The group's stated goal is to "envision and win an innovative p ...

, Women's March Illinois, and Northside Democracy for America. In the March 17, 2020 Democratic primary election, she placed second with 13.8% of the vote.

2022 election

Collins announced her candidacy for

Illinois's 7th congressional district The 7th congressional district of Illinois covers parts of Cook County, as of the 2011 redistricting that followed the 2010 census. All or parts of Bellwood, Chicago, Forest Park, Oak Park, Maywood, and Westchester are included. Democrat Dan ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

on June 1, 2021. Along with the launch of her campaign, she announced an endorsement from

Justice Democrats Justice Democrats is an American progressive political action committee founded on January 23, 2017, by former leaders from the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign Saikat Chakrabarti and Zack Exley, as well as political commentators Kyle ...

. Collins outraised incumbent Representative Danny Davis in both of the first two quarters of her campaign. In the June 28, 2022 Democratic primary election, she placed second with 45% of the vote.

Electoral history

References

External links

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Kina 1991 births 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women Activists from Illinois African-American women in politics Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections Carthage College alumni Illinois Democrats Living people Louisiana State University alumni Women in Illinois politics