Mr. Leon Dixon

Leon Dixon is one of the founders of the W.E.B. DuBois Learning Center. The Center is celebrating 40 Years of Service Helping Our Children Reach Their Potential Through Education, and he’s an Advocacy and Educational Consultant. Mr. Dixon worked as a tutor in Texas University’s Mathematics program while pursuing his Master’s degree in Mathematics. Upon obtaining his degree, he received a summer internship at NASA in Houston, and began work on a doctorate at the University of Iowa, where he also served as a teaching assistant. During his second semester there he was hospitalized for 17 days and diagnosed an arthritic. After several unsuccessful attempts at finding work, he accepted a position as an industrial mathematician/scientific programmer at the Bendix Corporation in 1965. Mr. Dixon started providing tutoring sessions to his family and friends In the early 70’s, often sharing concepts that had not yet been introduced at school. Mr. Dixon initially thought there wasn’t much he could do with his mathematics background in the community. However, through his experience working with family and friends, he began to realize there were several people that needed this assistance. One evening a child he had tutored was leaving his home when he thought to himself, “If another kid comes here for me to tutor, I would have to spend another two hours going over the exact same thing. Why spend two hours with one kid when I could be helping ten?” Additionally, he knew there were other members in the community who could help provide these services. Mr. Dixon worked out the details and presented his idea to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. They agreed to implement it under his leadership. The mathematics program began in the spring of 1973, with classes held in the St. James Gregory United Methodist Church. For these accolades and many others, The Trailblazer Awards honor him.