From Black Panther to Corporate America: Elmer Dixon on Race, Revolution, and Why DEI Is Not Dead

Simma Lieberman and Elmer Dixon go back over 50 years — she was in the Young Patriots, he was co-founding the first Black Panther Party chapter outside California. In this conversation, they cut through the lies, revisionist history, and current attacks on DEI to talk about what the Black Panther Party actually stood for, why erasing Black history will never work, and what it takes to stay courageous when the political winds turn ugly.

Elmer shares what it was like to transition from revolutionary to corporate diversity consultant, corrects the record on the myths about the Panthers, and gives three direct pieces of advice for anyone trying to stay grounded right now.

What You'll Hear

• Why Elmer and Simma were part of the original Rainbow Coalition — and who actually coined that phrase (hint: it wasn't Jesse Jackson)

• The two biggest lies still being told about the Black Panther Party — and the truth behind them

• What it felt like to leave the movement and step into "Babylon" with four kids to feed

• A Black student who compared the Panthers to the KKK — and what that tells us about deliberate historical distortion

• How the Netherlands teaches Black Panther history in school while the U.S. tries to erase it

• The Seattle Black Panther Legacy Center opening this June in Pioneer Square

• Why DEI is not affirmative action, and what "DEI hire" really reveals about the people saying it

• Elmer's three things everyone needs right now: self-education, self-love, and courage

Timestamps [01:30] Introducing Elmer Dixon — 52 years of knowing each other, Black Panthers and Young Patriots [03:00] Elmer's full bio — Seattle BPP, city cabinet, Executive Diversity Services, global work