// Workers AI · dad joke modeWho's Sara Mokuria? A moku-rious person.
Sara Mokuria | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lower Greenville, Dallas, Texas |
| Education | |
| Occupations | Activist, teacher |
| Known for | Police accountability |
Sara Mokuria is an American educator and police brutality activist. She is a co-founder of Mothers Against Police Brutality, a Texas-based group that advocates for civil rights, police accountability, and policy reform.
Early life and education
[edit]Mokuria was born in Lower Greenville, Dallas and grew up in Pleasant Grove.[1] When she was 10, she witnessed her father shot and killed by two Dallas police officers in her kitchen.[2] Her mother had called 911 during an argument and the police say he "lunged towards them" with the knife when they arrived; Mokuria's mother says the police killing was not justified.[3]
Mokuria graduated the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.[1] She later earned her bachelor's degree from The New School in New York City and two master's degrees from Simmons College in Boston.[4] While in college, she joined the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, providing early exposure to protesting against police brutality.[1]
Career
[edit]Mokuria returned to Dallas after graduating from Simmons College as a teacher at Skyline High School; in 2008, the district ran into a budget crisis forcing over 400 teachers to be laid off, including Mokuria.[1] She also worked as an associate director for The Institute for Urban Policy Research at the University of Texas at Dallas.[5]
In 2013, Mokuria co-founded Mothers Against Police Brutality alongside Collette Flanagan and John Fullinwider.[6] The same year, Flanagan's son was killed by a Dallas police officer while unarmed, and she joined with both Mokuria and Fullunwider to form a "multi-racial, multi-ethnic coalition uniting mothers nationwide to fight for civil rights, police accountability, and policy reform".[5]
Mokuria cites her father's killing as motivating her activism, stating that the criminal justice system doesn't "work for either side".[7] She has stated that the police force can't be the "catch-all" for every societal ill, and advocates for more community funding and increased leadership.[8][9] She considers initiatives like President Obama's 21st Century Policing task force progress but not enough.[8] She also cites the George Floyd protests that happened during the COVID-19 pandemic as evidence that people are willing to risk their lives for a greater cause.[9]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Crain, Zac (November 9, 2020). "Sara Mokuria Is the Mother of Dallas". D Magazine. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
- ↑ Emily, Jennifer (January 3, 2019). "Dallas police killed her father when she was 10 — and a lifelong activist was born". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
- ↑ Howland, Jack (October 17, 2019). "Atatiana Jefferson's nephew recovering from traumatic shooting". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved September 27, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Sara Mokuria on Creating a World Without Police Brutality". Next City. May 18, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
- 1 2 "Encore: Beyond the Trauma: Legacy, Compassion and Change with Mothers Against Police Brutality Co-Founder Sara Mokuria". MothersQuest.com. October 16, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
- ↑ Bloch, Katrina; Taylor, Tiffany, eds. (October 8, 2018). Marginalized Mothers, Mothering from the Margins. Emerald Publishing Limited. p. 248. ISBN 9781787564008. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
- ↑ Chávez, Stella M. (June 19, 2014). "Dallas Woman Turns Tragedy Into Conversation About Race". KERA News. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
- 1 2 Gass, Henry (August 3, 2021). "In push for police reform, small steps no longer enough". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved September 27, 2026.
- 1 2 Abdullah, Galilee (June 6, 2020). "North Texas Organizer Says Cities Should Divest From Police Departments". KERA News. Retrieved September 27, 2026.