“The women who came before me drive my commitment to lend my voice for women, particularly Black women, to have a place at the table to advance progressive public policies.”
– Glynda Carr
In 2011, Glynda C. Carr and Kimberly Peeler-Allen, two accomplished professional women who were already off the sidelines in their own right, came together to found Higher Heights For America to engage African-American women in political activism.
The mission of Higher Heights For America is to “elevate Black women’s voices…to create the environment in which more Black women, and other candidates who are committed to advancing policies that affect Black women, can be elected to public office.”
In other words, Higher Heights is a call to action to African-American women to get engaged and make their voices heard.
Both Glynda and Kimberly understood the value of women’s voices from a young age.
Glynda:
“From an early age, I was exposed to strong community-, civic- and business-minded Black women. My great-grandmother, grandmother and mother lived through the Women’s Suffrage Movement, Brown vs. Board of Education and Roe vs. Wade. They drank from “coloreds only” water fountains, didn’t have the right to vote and lacked real leadership and career opportunities not only because they were black, but also women. Yet, my great-grandmother owned two businesses and my mother used her skills in political activism to ensure that my brothers and I had access to the best educational opportunities.”
Kimberly:
“Notions of community and public service played an integral part of my upbringing. My mother was a “professional volunteer” and had me in toe for just about everything she did, whether stocking food pantries, working at a phone bank to help people pay their rent and utilities or getting petitions signed to send to the state capital or Washington, D.C. to stop the death penalty or increase aide for school food programs. It was always understood that you have to be a voice for the voiceless and you must always give in selfless service to others.”
Higher Heights for America is dedicated to organizing and mobilizing Black women; effectively moving them off the sidelines towards real political empowerment by arming them with the tools they need to engage, advocate and lead their communities towards sustainable change.
“Working in political campaigns allows me to affect change by helping candidates that I believe provide that voice for the voiceless, secure the necessary resources to be elected to office and effectively maintain that post.”
– Kimberly Peeler-Allen
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