In honor of Black History Month, the Multicultural Center welcomes a part of local Seattle history. Aaron Dixon will share with us his life experiences as told through his recently published book “My People Are Rising: Memoir of a Black Panther Party Captain.” on Tuesday, Feb. 11, from 1-2:30 p.m. in the PUB quiet dining room.
Aaron Dixon “My People Are Rising: Memoir of a Black Panther Party Captain”
In the spring of 1968, while attending the funeral of teenager Bobby Hutton in Oakland, California, Dixon met Bobby Seale who along with Huey P. Newton co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defense (BPP). The Panther leadership was impressed by 19 year-old Dixon and he was given instructions to form the Seattle Chapter. With his appointment as Captain of the Seattle Chapter, he formed the first branch of the BPP outside of California.
Dixon and his fellow Panthers were able to turn their Panther chapter into a thriving center of militant Black activism and community service in Seattle’s Central District. From the Party’s headquarters on Yesler Way, Dixon and the Panthers created a free medical clinic (still in operation today as the Carolyn Downs Clinic), five breakfast programs for schoolchildren, the first free food bank in Seattle, a prisoner visitation program, and free legal services for poor people. The Party also responded to calls from the community regarding police brutality and harassment.
Please contact me if you would like to request a poster to put up, reserve space for a class, or if you have any questions.
Day at a Glance 
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