Kina Collins

Kina Collins is an American community organizer and activist, whose work has focused on issues of gun violence, criminal justice reform, and universal healthcare. Collins is a candidate in the 2020 U.S. House election for Illinois' 7th congressional district.

Collins was born and raised in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago. She was a student in the Chicago Public Schools system, during which time she served as a Summer of Service Learning Ambassador. She attended Carthage College and Louisiana State University, where she studied international political economy and sociology respectively.

Community organizing and non-profit work

From 2015 to 2017, Collins worked as a regional organizer from Louisiana for Generation Progress, a youth-centered research and advocacy group formed under the Center for American Progress. 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.

Since September 2018, Collins has worked as a national organizer for Physicians for a National Health Program.

Electoral politics and government

Collins was a staff member in J. B. Pritzker's campaign for governor of Illinois in 2018, but resigned after recordings of conversations between Pritzker and Rod Blagojevich 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 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 Anna Valencia to serve on the Status of Women and Girls in Chicago working group.

During the 2019 Chicago aldermanic election, Collins helped form a coalition of organizations called Brand New Council, which aimed to elect progressive candidates of color to Chicago City Council. 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 in 2018.

Collins formally announced her candidacy for U.S. Representative from Illinois' 7th congressional district on May 13, 2019. She will challenge incumbent congressman Danny K. Davis in the Democratic Party primary election for the seat in March 2020. She has 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 Jeanette Taylor, Illinois House Representative Anna Moeller, 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, Women's March Illinois, and Northside Democracy for America.