What Was the Black Panther Party Fighting For?

UnTextbooked | A history podcast for the future

In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, police killed unarmed 17-year-old Bobby Hutton, and Aaron Dixon decided it was time to join the Black Panther Party.

Aaron Dixon was co-founder and Captain of the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party. As a college student at the University of Washington, Dixon played a key role in the formation of the Black Student Union (BSU) and the Seattle Chapter of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In the spring of 1968, at the funeral of Bobby Hutton in Oakland, California, Dixon met Bobby Seale and later was appointed Captain of Seattle’s Black Panther Party, the first chapter outside of Oakland. He was 19 years old. Dixon led the chapter through its first four years, then moved to Party national headquarters in Oakland in 1972. There he worked with Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, and served for a time as bodyguard to Elaine Brown.

Aaron Dixon’s autobiography is titled “My People Are Rising: Memoir of a Black Panther Party Captain” (2012).

Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you listen. That way you never miss an episode.

Love the show? Consider writing us a review on your podcast app or telling a friend about the show. This really helps us spread the word.

Visit UnTextbooked.com for learning resources including a glossary of terms.

Show Notes:

00:00 - Who Were the Black Panthers?

1:39 - Why did Aaron Dixon Join the Black Panthers?

4:27 - Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

6:06 - Little Bobby Hutton’s Death and Funeral

8:21 - Starting the Seattle Chapter

12:12 - Black Liberation & Rainbow Coalition

14:45 - COINTELPRO & “Enemy Number One”

16:32 - Assassination Attempts on Aaron Dixon’s Life

20:38 - Chicago Leader Fred Hampton’s Assassination

24:46 - Aaron Dixon’s Revolutionary Legacy

28:00 - Reflections