My People Are Rising: Memoir of a Black Panther Party Captain

by Aaron Dixon, Judson L. Jeffries (Foreword by)

Overview

The founder of the Black Panther Party’s Seattle chapter recounts his life on the frontlines of the Black Power Revolution.

Growing up in Seattle in the 1960s, Aaron Dixon dedicated himself to the Civil Rights movement at an early age. As a teenager, he joined Martin Luther King on marches to end housing discrimination and volunteered to help integrate schools. After King’s assassination in 1968, Dixon continued his activism by starting the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party at the age of nineteen.

In My People Are Rising, Dixon offers a candid account of life in the Black Panther Party. Through his eyes, we see the courage of a generation that stood up to injustice, their political triumphs and tragedies, and the unforgettable legacy of Black Power.

“This book is a moving memoir experience: a must read. The dramatic life cycle rise of a youthful sixties political revolutionary, my friend Aaron Dixon.” —Bobby Seale, founding chairman and national organizer of the Black Panther Party, 1966 to 1974

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608461790
Publisher:	Haymarket Books
Publication date:	06/04/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	301
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Aaron Dixon: Aaron Dixon was co-founder and Captain of the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party. He has remained engaged in politics since, founding various non-profits for Seattle youth and running as a Green Party candidate in the 2006 Senate race. He lives in Seattle, WA.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

OUR FAMILY JOURNEY BEGINS

CHAPTER 1: ANCESTORS 4
CHAPTER 2: OUR FAMILY JOURNEY BEGINS 18
CHAPTER 3: THE SEARCH FOR HOME 27
CHAPTER 4: RUMBLINGS IN THE SOUTH 40
CHAPTER 5: STICKING TOGETHER 47
CHAPTER 6: REBELLION AT HOME 53

THE TIDE OF THE MOVEMENT

CHAPTER 7: SLOW AWAKENING 57
CHAPTER 8: STOKLEY COMES TO TOWN 67
CHAPTER 9: THE TIDE OF THE MOVEMENT 72
CHAPTER 10: THE DEATH OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. 85
CHAPTER 11: PANTHER EMERGES 92
CHAPTER 12: 7TH AND WOOD—APRIL 1968 103

JULY 1968 SEATTLE

CHAPTER 13: THE PANTHER COMES TO SEATTLE 124
CHAPTER 14: HUEY AND THE U.N. 138
CHAPTER 15: JULY 1968 SEATTLE 147
CHAPTER 16: THE UNROMANTIC REVOLUTION 157
CHAPTER 17: DEATH IN WINTER 165
CHAPTER 18: THE UNEVEN PURGE 172

COINTEL IS UNLEASHED

CHAPTER 19: COINTEL IS UNLEASHED 181
CHAPTER 20: THE CHAIRMAN IS KIDNAPPED 186
CHAPTER 21: THE RESURRECTION OF THE SEATTLE CHAPTER 195
CHAPTER 22: MURDER OF FRED HAMPTON 201
CHAPTER 23: DAY TO DAY SURVIVAL 209
CHAPTER 24: HUEY IS SET FREE 216
CHAPTER 25: SEATTLE, RIOT 18 223

A PARTY DIVIDED: THE SPLIT

CHAPTER 26: A PARTY DIVIDED: THE SPLIT 229
CHAPTER 27: CENTRALIZATION—MARCH 1972 237
CHAPTER 28: THE CAMPAIGN—1973 248
CHAPTER 29: THE GODFATHER ON LAKE MERRIT 259
CHAPTER 30: ELAINE’S RISE TO POWER 266
CHAPTER 31: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN 274

THE END OF THE LINE

CHAPTER 32: THE DEATH OF DEACON 281
CHAPTER 33: OAKLAND IS OURS 286
CHAPTER 34: HUEY’S RETURN 295
CHAPTER 35: THE RICHMOND INCIDENT 301
CHAPTER 36: THE END OF THE LINE 306
CHAPTER 37: THE LAST HURRAH 319

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

This book is a moving memoir experience: a must read. The dramatic life cycle rise of a youthful sixties political revolutionary."
—Bobby Seale, founding Chairman and National Organizer of the Black Panther Party: 1966 to 1974

"Aaron Dixon is a courageous, compassionate, and wise freedom fighter whose story of his pioneering work in the Black Panther Party is powerful and poignant. Don't miss it!"
–Cornel West

“Dixon’s lyrical prose provides a candid appraisal of the Black Panther Party that highlights the neglected contributions of Northwest activists. This is a striking blend of social history, memoir and political analysis. Required reading for all those interested in black liberation struggles, and radical history of the 20th century.” —Laura Chrisman, editor-in-chief, The Black Scholar

"My People Are Rising: Memoir of a Black Panther Party Captainr is the most authentic book ever written by a member of the Black Panther Party. Aaron Dixon does an absolutely superb job of presenting life in the Party from the perspective of a foot soldier—a warrior for the cause of revolutionary change and Black Power in America. He pulls no punches and holds nothing back in writing honestly about those times (late 1960’s and during the 1970’s) as he successfully presents a visual picture of the courage, commitment, and sometimes, shocking brutality of life as a Panther activist in Seattle, Washington and Oakland, California.
This is an unforgettable must read book!"

—Larry Gossett, ChairMetropolitan King County Council

There have been many books about the Black Panther party but never has there been a Panther book as illuminating as this memoir by Aaron Dixon. It's the story from a different perspective than we've ever seen: the former member who has remained a long-distance runner for revolution. It's indispensable for anyone with an interest in black politics or the politics of change in the United States.

–Dave Zirin, The Nation

Editorial Reviews

The cofounder of the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party shares his personal journey through 10 years of the party’s rise and fall, tracing the Black Power movement from 1968 through the late ’70s. At age 18, inspired by Stokely Carmichael and Bobby Seale, distressed over the murder of Martin Luther King Jr., and rebellious, Dixon was swept enthusiastically into a leadership role in the party that fed his passion for political education and helping the black community, while allowing him to participate in stockpiling weapons and fighting against both local white police “pigs” and a U.S. government that saw the militarized Panthers as a serious threat. Dixon paints an intense picture of the party’s next decade, from youth recruitment, through the purge of members involved in criminal activities, and finally to the split between those who wanted to work within the political system and those who felt it was time for a violent revolution. Dixon’s deeply personal writing humanizes the movement: his pride in the success of social programs like free breakfast for school children coexists with his disillusionment and disappointment as top members are lost to incarceration, murder, and especially to internal disagreements and corruption, threatening both the survival of the organization and Dixon’s personal ideals. Photos. (July)

Publishers Weekly

This book is a moving memoir experience: a must read. The dramatic life cycle rise of a youthful sixties political revolutionary."
—Bobby Seale, founding Chairman and National Organizer of the Black Panther Party: 1966 to 1974

"Aaron Dixon is a courageous, compassionate, and wise freedom fighter whose story of his pioneering work in the Black Panther Party is powerful and poignant. Don't miss it!"
–Cornel West

“Dixon’s lyrical prose provides a candid appraisal of the Black Panther Party that highlights the neglected contributions of Northwest activists. This is a striking blend of social history, memoir and political analysis. Required reading for all those interested in black liberation struggles, and radical history of the 20th century.” —Laura Chrisman, editor-in-chief, The Black Scholar

"My People Are Rising: Memoir of a Black Panther Party Captainr is the most authentic book ever written by a member of the Black Panther Party. Aaron Dixon does an absolutely superb job of presenting life in the Party from the perspective of a foot soldier—a warrior for the cause of revolutionary change and Black Power in America. He pulls no punches and holds nothing back in writing honestly about those times (late 1960’s and during the 1970’s) as he successfully presents a visual picture of the courage, commitment, and sometimes, shocking brutality of life as a Panther activist in Seattle, Washington and Oakland, California.
This is an unforgettable must read book!"

—Larry Gossett, ChairMetropolitan King County Council

There have been many books about the Black Panther party but never has there been a Panther book as illuminating as this memoir by Aaron Dixon. It's the story from a different perspective than we've ever seen: the former member who has remained a long-distance runner for revolution. It's indispensable for anyone with an interest in black politics or the politics of change in the United States.

–Dave Zirin, The Nation

From the Publisher