Activist and organizer Aaron Dixon (pictured above on the right) found himself on the front lines just over 50 years ago, when he was named the captain of the first Black Panther Party branch outside of California.
Dixon was born January 2, 1949 in Chicago before his family moved west to Seattle’s Central District, a historically Black neighborhood. His passion for organizing and activism came from his parents, and he used that focus to help form the University of Washington’s Black Student Union and the Seattle branch of the SNCC, alongside current city Councilman Larry Gossett.
After meeting with the Panthers in Oakland for the funeral of Bobby Sutton in 1968, Dixon was instilled as the captain and co-founder of the group’s Seattle branch and incorporated the same programs and actions that took place across California. In the early ‘70’s, Dixon began working at the Panther’s national headquarters in Oakland and served as a bodyguard for Elaine Brown. (READ MORE)
