Page 21 - Human Rights Program 2025 Annual Report

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Later that week, HRP welcomed Collette Flanagan,
founder of the Dallas-based organization, Mothers
Against Police Brutality (MAPB), as the keynote
speaker at the 2025 Scallen Lecture. Funded by a
generous gift from Stephen and Chacke Scallen, the
Scallen Lecture in Human Rights highlights Principled
Voices, leaders and thinkers who distinguish
themselves by carrying out their passion for human
rights, cultural awareness, democratic principles,
fairness, and dignity, often at great odds and great
personal risk. Flanagan’s lecture, titled, “Don't
Become Desensitized to Injustice. Police Brutality is
Still Happening,” offered emotional insights into the
turmoil that family members face after losing a loved
one to police violence.
Collette Flanagan
After her son, Clinton Allen, a 25-year-old Black father of twin boys, was shot multiple times and
killed by Dallas police in March 2013, Flanagan decided to turn her grief into fuel. She
established Mothers Against Police Brutality (MAPB), which quickly transformed into a large-
scale multiethnic and multicultural advocacy organization that has worked to create meaningful
change at both the local and national level. For over a decade, MAPB has championed greater
police transparency and an end to qualified immunity, all while supporting countless families in
need of services. Flanagan herself has worked directly with the United Nations Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights and has collaborated with other NGOs and UN committees
addressing systemic racism and police violence.
After Flanagan delivered her remarks, Toshira Garraway- founder of Families Supporting Families
Against Police Violence- joined Collette Flanagan and Human Rights Initiative Manager Amelia
Shindelar in a discussion on law enforcement violence in Minnesota. A fundamental part of
human rights methodology is personal testimony- hearing directly from survivors, families, and
practitioners to understand patterns of human rights violations. Following the panel, local
families who have been harmed by law enforcement violence shared their stories- experiences of
law enforcement police violence, memories of their murdered loved ones, and their quest
for accountability.
Several audience members noted that
the emotional testimony from affected
families served to humanize the
discussion around policing and law
enforcement violence in the U.S.
Flanagan and the other advocates
emphasized the importance of
reaching out to families and
empathizing with their pain, noting
that change is not accomplished by
statistics alone but by the stories of
those affected. As Flanagan stated in
her lecture, “We will fight, we will
organize, and we will win. And we will
Panel with Collette Flanagan, Toshira Garraway,
win because a new generation refuses
to be desensitized to police violence.”
and Amelia Shindelar
The Human Rights Program is grateful to the Scallen family for their generous support of the
Scallen Lecture in Human Rights.