Kimberly Peeler-Allen is the Co-founder of Higher Heights, the only national organization devoted to helping Black women harness their political power and advance progressive policies. In the movement building and fundraising space…well, we could say Kimberly has been around the block a time or two, but that would be a gross understatement. Speaking from 20 years of experience working at the intersection of race, gender, and politics, Kimberly will be leading a workshop this November called, “Community Movement to Public Policy.” In addition to a brief Q&A about the workshop, Kimberly shared a little about what motivates and inspires her personally.

Q: Time freezes for everyone but you for one day. What do you do?

KPA: Because I live in New York, the first thing I would do would be to run, walk, drive from one part of the city to another just to see how long it’s really supposed to take without traffic. Then I would read a book and take care of my personal chores around my house that never get done because I just never have the time.

Q: If you could change the outcome of one world event, what would that be?

KPA: I would change the outcome of 9/11. The lives lost in the actual event and the subsequent wars, the trauma of the survivors, the economic impact that rippled far beyond the Twin Towers, the overall cost of war to our psyche as individuals and a nation, the anti-Muslim sentiment that is now in full view and the creation of the TSA could have all been prevented if the hijackers had been diverted or caught the way other disruptors had been previously thwarted.

Q: What personal passion project are you working on right now?

KPA: I am working on my first book about Black women activists who are mothers and all that their experience brings to movement work.

Q: What’s more important – doing the right thing, or doing things right?

KPA: Doing the right thing is more important than doing things right. You can always go back and fix minor errors but doing the right thing shows strength of character. If you do the wrong thing but do it correctly, what good does that do the universe?

Q: What should be the goal of humanity?

KPA: The goal of humanity should be to ensure that every person has adequate food, shelter and safety even if it means some must give up some of what they have so that others have their basic needs met.

Community Movement to Public Policy, is happening Wednesday, November 13 from 3-4pm.