Kina Collins facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kina Collins
Personal details
Born	(1991-03-08) March 8, 1991 (age 34) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	Carthage College Louisiana State University (BA)

Kina Isis Collins is an American community organizer and activist. She works to make communities better. Her main focus areas are preventing gun violence, making the justice system fairer, and ensuring everyone has healthcare. Collins has run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for Illinois's 7th congressional district several times. She was a candidate in the Democratic primary elections in 2020, 2022, and 2024.

Early Life and Education

Kina Collins grew up in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago. She attended schools within the Chicago Public Schools system. During her time there, she was a Summer of Service Learning Ambassador. This program helps young people get involved in community service.

Later, she went to Carthage College. She also studied at Louisiana State University. At these colleges, she learned about how countries work together and how societies are organized.

Activism and Community Work

Helping Communities and Non-Profits

From 2015 to 2017, Kina Collins worked for an organization called Generation Progress. This group focuses on research and advocacy for young people. She was a regional organizer in Louisiana.

During 2016 and 2017, she joined Generation Progress' #Fight4AFuture National Leadership Council. This council created projects to prevent gun violence and improve the justice system.

In 2017, Collins started her own group called the Chicago Neighborhood Alliance. Its goal is to help people get involved in their communities. This helps to stop gun violence in Chicago. From 2018 to 2019, she worked for Physicians for a National Health Program. This group works to make healthcare available to everyone. As of 2020, she leads the Gun Violence Prevention Education Center. This statewide group works to prevent gun violence in Illinois.

Working in Politics and Government

Kina Collins was part of J. B. Pritzker's campaign for governor of Illinois in 2018. She later left the campaign. This happened after some controversial comments made by Pritzker in 2009 became public. After that, she worked as the political director for Sameena Mustafa's campaign for Congress.

In 2018, Collins helped write the Illinois Council on Women and Girls Act. This law created a council to advise the governor and lawmakers. The council gives advice on issues important to women and girls. Collins was the first chairwoman of this council. She also served on a working group in Chicago. This group focused on the status of women and girls in the city.

During the 2019 Chicago aldermanic election, Collins helped create a group called Brand New Council. This group aimed to elect new, forward-thinking candidates of color to the Chicago City Council. The group supported 16 candidates and worked to register new voters.

Special Recognition

In 2018, Kina Collins received an award for her community work. The Chicago chapter of the National Organization for Women gave her the Vernita Grey Community Activist Award.

Running for Congress

2020 Election Campaign

On May 13, 2019, Kina Collins announced she would run for U.S. Representative. She wanted to represent Illinois's 7th congressional district. She challenged the current congressman, Danny K. Davis, in the Democratic primary election in March 2020. Two other candidates also ran.

Collins focused on three main goals if she were elected. These were healthcare for everyone, more research and resources to prevent gun violence, and making the justice system fairer. She received support from several local leaders. These included a Chicago alderman and state representatives. Many organizations also supported her. In the primary election on March 17, 2020, she came in second place.

2022 Election Campaign

Kina Collins announced she would run for the same congressional seat again on June 1, 2021. She also announced that the group Justice Democrats supported her campaign. Collins raised more money than the current Representative Danny Davis in the first few months of her campaign. In the Democratic primary election on June 28, 2022, she again placed second.

2024 Election Campaign

Collins announced her candidacy for Illinois's 7th congressional district for a third time on July 10, 2023. At the same time, she shared that several local elected officials supported her. These included Chicago City Council members Angela Clay and Daniel La Spata.

On March 8, 2024, the band The Strokes performed a concert to help raise money for Collins' campaign. This was the second time they had performed for her campaign, with the first being in 2022.

Electoral History