NEW MEMOIR CHRONICLES LIFE OF FORMER BLACK PANTHER PARTY LEADER
For Immediate Release
June 8, 2023
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON — His image—holding a rifle on the steps of the Washington state capitol building—is one of the most iconic photographs from the Black Power movement.
Back in 1968, Elmer Dixon co-founded the Seattle Chapter of the Black Panther Party to provide armed patrols to protect Black people from police beatings and killings.
More than a half-century later, Dixon is a popular diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant for companies, organizations and universities around the world.
Now he’s sharing his remarkable story in DIE STANDING:
From Black Panther Party Revolutionary to Global Diversity Consultant by Elmer Dixon, with forewords by former Black Panther Party Chairman Bobby Seale and David Walsh, a former police sergeant in Dublin, Ireland.
The book was released in hardcover, paperback, and eBook on June 16, 2023, for the Juneteenth holiday from Two Sisters Writing & Publishing®. It is available for order on their site.
For speaking or interview opportunities, please contact TwoSisters Publishing
Contact: Elizabeth Ann Atkins
313-492-5718
Elizabeth@TwoSistersWriting.com
Elmer Dixon, president of Executive Diversity Services, is a highly respected figure in the struggle for freedom and justice, having dedicated his life to defending the rights of the oppressed. He is a sought-after speaker and consultant in the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion, having worked with companies, government agencies, and educational institutions around the world. His TEDx Talk at the University of Tulsa will be broadcast soon.
Today’s headlines are filled with harm and violence towards the Black community, with young Ralph Yarl, who was shot for ringing the wrong doorbell, being the most recent.
And as Black liberation is being more heavily centered in cinema and television (Judas and the Black Messiah, Dear Mama featuring Tupac Shakur’s mother and prominent Black Panther member Afeni Shakur, and Dave Chappelle citing the famous photo of Elmer Dixon on the Washington capitol steps with his gun and lieutenants), this memoir is a timely
addition to the conversation for how people can lead by Elmer’s example to inspire collective change in systemic oppressions impacting marginalized communities every day.
What People Are Saying About Elmer Dixon:
“The world is a better place because of the work that Elmer Dixon did as a Black Panther Party leader on the streets and in our communities, and today in corporate boardrooms and on university stages around the world. I hope that by reading this book, people everywhere will emulate his mission and his model
to take action to create a more just world for all.”
—Bobby Seale
Co-Founder and Former Chairman
The Black Panther Party
Author, A Lonely Rage and Power to the People: The World of the Black Panthers
“Elmer Dixon… is Black; I am white. He fought the police and the system; I was part of maintaining the system. He proposed what some perceived as violence—but what I later learned was self-defense—to bring about change; I took an oath to stop people like Elmer and help lock them up.
Elmer Dixon and I should have nothing in common, and yet we have everything in common…if Elmer and I can find this common space, then anyone can… form foundations for profound understanding that inspires change for individuals and the collective.”
—David Walsh
Former Police Sergeant
Dublin, Ireland
Book Description
In DIE STANDING, Dixon shares his personal journey from growing up in Seattle’s Central District to co-founding the Seattle Chapter of the Black Panther Party and becoming a prominent voice in the ongoing struggle for human rights.
Dixon also offers insights and practical advice on how to lead efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace. His book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in creating a more inclusive and equitable workplace and world.
Here is an excerpt from DIE STANDING:
The eight of us immediately… marched across the street and entered the Franklin High School principal’s office.
“Get out!” we ordered. “We’re running the school,” we declared, “until you give in to our demands. We’re staying in your office until you give the students a Black Student Union.”
The principal, vice principal, the secretary, and counselors quickly exited the building.
We barricaded ourselves in for the night and for the long haul, with no intention to leave until our demands were met.
The next morning, the phone rang, and we answered.
“Good morning this is Franklin High School, can I help you?”
On the other end was the principal and he said, “You know, they can have a BSU, we give up. Please leave our offices.”
We briefly celebrated our success and left the school.
A week later—on April 4, 1968—I was back at Garfield High School in my geometry class when the phone rang.
“Elmer,” said my teacher, Mr. Bob Naramore, “they want you in the office.” That was not unusual, as I had been called to the office on multiple occasions.
“Fine,” I said. “What did I do now?”
I closed my books and as soon as I stepped outside the classroom, two detectives read me my rights and handcuffed me.
“You’re under arrest for unlawful assembly,” they said before quietly marching me out of the school and driving me off to juvie.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, one of my BSU brothers was also arrested at the school. At the University of Washington, and my brother Aaron, Larry Gossett, and Carl Miller, as well as several Franklin students, were being arrested simultaneously.
When I arrived in juvie, TV reports showed riots and burning across the country. We learned that hours earlier, Dr. King had been assassinated.
This created bitter irony for the timing of our arrest. It was almost as if authorities knew the assassination was going to occur, so they were rounding up the so-called Black Power leaders to get us off the streets before any chaos happened in Seattle. As I sat trapped inside the walls of juvie in a holding room, we crowded around the TV, watching the shocking news as the nation erupted and the streets burned.
Riots were breaking out in Washington, DC, L.A., Dallas, Chicago, and other cities.
James Brown was performing at a concert in Boston and made a plea for Black people to not riot. But they were so distraught, they took their rage and grief to the streets.
Later that evening, when Poppy and Mommy came to get me out of juvie, they were in shock, anger and disbelief over the death of Dr. King while their two older sons were in jail.
“Are you alright?” they asked.
“I’m fine,” I answered.
We drove home in silence as hurt roiled in my parents’ eyes. I could sense their
dismay, frustration and pain of losing yet another important leader. NAACP leader Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, President John F. Kennedy, and now Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had all represented so much hope for Blacks. The world was in for some serious shit and my parents’ two oldest sons were now a part of this movement that was evolving and growing, and they couldn’t do anything to stop it.
—end of excerpt—