Melanie Barron

Melanie Barron

Melanie Barron is a Knoxville Tennessee activist. She is married to Ben Allen. Barron grew up in Dalton, GA, and earned her undergraduate degree from Georgia Southern University. She joined United Campus Workers in 2012, where she co-founded the Graduate Workers Organizing Committee while earning her PhD in Geography from the University of Tennessee. She joined the staff of UCW Local 3865 in 2015 and participated in the defeat of a statewide privatization scheme through the Tennessee is Not for Sale campaign. She has co-led the team to expand United Campus Workers across the Southeast since 2017, and currently leads the UCW Fellowship, an intensive rank and file leadership development program. She now lives in Knoxville, TN.

The Forge article

October 12, 2020 The Forge "Fighting Neoliberal Universities in States without Bargaining Rights" by Melanie Barron, Karly Safar, and Kate Diedrick.

Liberation Road

Waging a Two-Pronged Battle: Socialists Assess How to Win From a Biden Candidacy

Liberation Road website April 29 2020

Road Signs asked three socialists who are deep in the trenches of electoral organizing in the US South to share their perspective on what’s at stake in the 2020 election. How should we engage the battle to defeat Trump, even as we grow our independent political bases, build pressure on Biden to embrace progressive demands, win people to Socialism and shift the U.S. political terrain?

• Whitney Maxey (WM) she/her is a movement organizer in Memphis, Tennessee
• Melanie Barron (MB) is a labor organizer based in Knoxville, Tennessee.
• Bennett Carpenter (BC) (they/them) is a movement organizer in Durham, North Carolina

Tim Wise visit

Tim Wise, one of the most prominent anti-racism writers and speakers in the country, wsa at UTK in the UC Auditorium. Entitled "An Evening with Tim Wise: 'Beyond Diversity: Challenging Racism in an Age of Backlash,'" Wise will address institutional diversity programs and bring attention to how such programs often fail.

The event was organized and coordinated by the UTK Progressive Student Alliance . Melanie Barron, graudate student in geography and member of PSA, said that the goal of bringing Wise to UT was to shed more light on institutional racism.

"We noticed overall that there is a problem with students ... not understanding racism as an interpersonal issues versus being an institutional problem," Barron said. "People would say ... 'Racism isn't a big deal any more.' But if you know anything about the United States and current problems, especially with poverty ... then you know that institutional racism is still a big problem."

"Thinking about racism in an institutional way makes some people kind of uncomfortable, especially white people," Barron said. "Because a lot of people think that if you think of white privilege it automatically puts this undue burden on you." [[ Jordan Welsh]], freshman in history and fellow PSA member, shared the sentiment.

"Society doesn't teach you how harmful racism can actually be," Welsh said. "Textbooks don't teach you how harmful racism is. So you have to branch out. You have to get actual people who know this stuff. I think Tim Wise has a lot of experience in anti-racist education."

Wise has also written a number of books on the subject of race and white privilege including "Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority," "Affirmative Action: Racial Preference in Black and White" and "White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son."

Numerous UT departments and organizations helped the PSA fund this event, including the geography, sociology, American Studies, English and global studies departments, as well as the College of Social Work. PSA also applied for and was awarded a $5,000 grant from UT's Ready for the World committee.

Student alliance challenges branding campaign

Friday March 02, 2012;

To the Editor of the Daily Beacon:

We offer the following concerns about the recently announced “Big Orange, Big Ideas” campaign to promote the University of Tennessee through the development of a brand. We hope that the administration will accept our constructive criticism as representative of a popular voice on campus which does not share the vision of UT promoted by the “branding” campaign.

As a first step toward reasserting our identity as something more than a commodity, we propose that our university remove the “Big Orange, Big Ideas” banner from the outside of Hodges Library. The Hodges Library is a monument to the complexity of ideas and the universality of human knowledge. This is the site where school colors and simple slogans are the most out-of-place, and removing the banner would be a dignified recognition of the value of UT.

Respectfully,

The Progressive Student Alliance:

• Elias Attea
• Melanie Barron
• Eric Brackett
• Andrew Davis
• Andrew Emitt
• Amien Essif
• Alex Fields
• Jessica Fowler
• Kristen Hatten
• Kaitlin Malick
• Karen Principe
• Leslie Principe
• Jim Sheffield
• Kathleen E. Bohstedt, retired professor, Department of Philosophy
• John Bohstedt, professor emeritus, Department of History
• Les Essif, professor of French studies
• Michael Handelsman, professor of Latin American literature and distinguished professor in the humanities
• Randal L. Hepner, Ph.D., Department of Religious Studies
• Tricia Hepner, associate professor, Department of Anthropology
• Peggy Jackson, UT alumna and current graduate student in geography, MS
• Zak Koenig, student manager at RecSports, coach - Tennessee crew
• Benjamin Lee, assistant professor, Department of English
• Katherine Newell, graduate student in history
• Lydia M. Pulsipher, professor emeritus, Department of Geography

Progressive Student Alliance

Ferguson solidarity

Thomas Wayne Walker August 15, 2014:

Organizations on the ground in st. louis, mo are calling for people across the u.s. to demonstrate at 2pm est *this saturday* against police murder, police militarization, and racism--in solidarity with the uprising in ferguson and demanding justice for mike brown. let's meet up at the corner of summit hill & hall of fame dr., where knox police killed an unarmed african-american man on may 18, 200... See More — with Holly Rainey, Elizabeth Wright, Michelle Christian, Alex Fields, Josh Smyser, Suzanne Pharr, Anne Barnett, Anna Masson, Saint Thomas LeDoux, Joshua Outsey, Meagan Thomas, Michelle Gibson, Cassie Watters, Elandria Williams, Sam Stratton, Jess Welch, Angel Ibarra, Joseph Woods, Kaitlin Malick, Andre Canty, Melanie Barron, Ben Allen, Erin Bicknese, Tom Torres, Ricki Draper, William Wilson, Bonnie Swinford, Joe Tolbert, Jr., Mickee Murray, David Alex Hayes, Margo Miller, JT Taylor and Karly Safar at Summit Hill and Hall of Fame Drive.

Put the People First meeting

November 17 2014 · Nashville, TN ·

— with Mike Cannon and Cassie Watters, Lee Dunham Sessions, Anne Barnett, Thomas Wayne Walker, Jeffrey Lichtenstein, Anna Masson, Tom Smith, Elizabeth Owen, Bjorn Sea Jayanni Webster, Karly Safar, Melanie Barron, Ben Allen, Josh Smyser, Anza Becnel, Thelma Rimmer, David Alex Hayes at I.B.E.W. Electrical Workers Local Union #429.

May 1 Put the People First rally

Put the People First, Knoxville Thursday 1 May 2014. Organized by : Karly Safar.

Gov. Haslam and his elite allies, have abandoned everyday people in Tennessee. Our coalition's response is simple: put the people first! We want living wage jobs, good public schools, and a good democracy that encourages participation!

Join us for a May Day parade and BBQ celebration by and for the people! Meet us in Market Square at 6pm and we'll march to Vine Middle School on MLK Blvd and end at Harriet Tubman Park for a BBQ and celebration!

Endorsers include:

United Campus Workers | Knoxville NAACP | Knox County Education Association | Seeed Knox | SOCM | Jobs with Justice of East Tennessee | Knox County Democrats.

Those giving notice of intention to attend on Wherevent included: Kristin Baksa, Christina Louise Belge, Lee Dunham Sessions, Kathryn Davis, Elizabeth Wright, Jenn Wallis, Jess Welch, Anne Barnett, Suz Seaton, Kaitlin Malick, Sol Msr, Linda Haney, Brittany Bender, Erica Davis, Christina Catherine Gore, Megan Clifton, Kim Webber, Vivian Swayne, Miriya Bollenbacher, Jennie Spanos, Shelagh Leutwiler, Taimi Olsen, Donna Maxwell, Janet Miles, Nicky Primo Allen, Natalie McGee, Leslie Principe, Tonya Hill, Tanya T. Coats, Cassie Watters, Kassie Ernst, Diana Moyer, Bonnie Swinford, Rose Attea, Maggie Gardner Tankersley, Jane Johnson Skinner, Amelia Taylor, Melanie Barron, Kristi Larkin Havens, Camillee Dyin'ices Perrett, Anna Masson, Jessica Pittman, Angie Max, Jonnie R. Hagan, Genny Petschulat, Laura Megan Stewart, Nickie Hackenbrack, Casey Self, Shamika Cook, Viviane Manigat Jackson, Xylina Marshall, Courtney Anderson, Leslie Anderson Pignataro, Sally Buice, Amelia Parker, Sistufara Muhammad, Amber Matthews, Janine Al-Aseer, Judith Petree, Deborah Bahr, Joy Coffey, Rebecca Stefanescu, Donna Laxson, Kate Elgammal, Karen Principe, Holly Smarr, Natasha Carina, Melissa Slayton, Elizabeth Owen, Megan Brockett, Robert Naylor, Mark Mohundro, Alex Falk, Conrad Charleston, Ben Wright, Cameron Brooks, Jim Wallace, Andrew Beamer, Andre Canty, Isaac Brandt, Adam Alsamadisi, Alex Fields, Ben Allen, Ryan Brown, Axel Ringe, Bryan G. Pfeifer, Prince Abed Oduro, James Gullett, James R. Golden, Bob Hutton, Gerry Moll, Alexander Thumler, Young Rome, Brad Wright, Elias Attea, Josh Smyser, Sam Petschulat, Jordan Welsh, Donald Fritz, Josh Stovall, David Alex Hayes, Ed Borum, Shaun Scenard, William Isom, Alejandro Guizar, Alex Pulsipher, Thomas Wayne Walker, John Mayer, Micheal Freeman, Angel Ibarra, Donte Samoa, Robert Boyd, Tom Torres, Rodolfo Urquieta, Andrew Sexton, Dustin Moore, Kacper Fryderyk Grass, Matt Ellison, Richard Murray, Maurice L. Clark, Sr., Justin Marcel Leduc, Lee Owen, Zach Blume, Mitch Thompson, Ramez Elgammal, Brandon Ray Darr, Tres Daugherty.

United Campus Workers/show me $15

December 2014, United Campus Workers supports Knoxville's first #strikefastfood #showme15! Solidarity! — with Kris Bronstad, Anne Barnett, Ben Allen, Fran Ansley, Karly Safar, Melanie Barron, Thomas Wayne Walker, Joan Croce Grim, Tony Harris, Janet Miles, Anna Masson, Debbie Helsley, Josh Smyser, Elizabeth Owen, Lucy Jewel, Bob Hutton, Patrick Keaney, Matt Cook, Michelle Christian and Ben Lee.

Anti-privatization meeting

Event in Knoxville 1800 Melrose Ave, Tuesday 6 October 2015

State lawmakers will join the United Campus Workers, UT College Democrats, Progressive Student Alliance and Statewide Organizing for Community Empowerment during a fact-finding trip to learn more about the potential impact of the Governor's plan to possibly bring privatization to the campus of UT Knoxville.

Senate Minority Leader Lee Harris and state Rep. John Ray Clemmons will hear from campus employees, students and faculty about the potential impacts that layoffs and outsourcing will have on their families and campus life. Organized by JT Taylor.

Those indicating their intention to attend, on Wherevent, included Matt Roach, Elizabeth Stanfield, Savannah Lucas, Ann League, Jamie Greig, Melanie Barron, Madeleine Lewis, Adam Hughes, Matt Anderson, Jack Petschulat, Coy Wakefield, Carter Hall, Jordan Welsh, Gloria Johnson, Eric Dixon, Anna Gardner, Caroline Cranford, Alex Fields, Will Gabelman, Josh Smyser, Courtney Anderson, Colleen Ryan, Katie Myers, Karly Safar, Hayley Brundige, William Dirmeyer, Feroza Freeland, Ciara Malaugh, Bonnie Swinford, Cassie Watters, Phyliss Dubinsky Shey, Meghan Martin, Prestyr John .

"Say Zir Name"

Dunford Hall room 2326 Thursday 12 November 2015, organized by UTK Progressive Student Alliance "Say Zir Name".

Special guest Cazembe Jackson, our trans brother and bad ass organizer for South will share his story as a transman in the movement and how he held his comrades accountable for his pronouns. He will also make awareness for pronouns and elevating trans existance more intersectional mentioning policy brutality and mass incarceration of black transwomen.

Those indicating attendance on Wherevent included Melanie Barron, Kristin Moretz, Lucy Greer, LaSabra LeeAnn Williams, Emily Gregg, Donna Bra-kay, Morgan Smith, Rachel West, Allison Joslin, Kristen Godfrey, Amira Sakalla, Caroline Rogers, Meghan Martin, Elizabeth Stanfield, Alina Clay, Jocelyn B. White, Gwen Schablik, Jamie Greig, Breann Cooper, Mary Geiser, Lindsay Jai, Cris Dark, Hanna Cat Wilkinson, Becca Payton, Genevieve Jeter, Priyam Madhukar, Leigh Belmont, Nicky Frazier, Courtney Anderson, Chelsey Verzosa, Charlotte Lee, Maggie Marsh, Erica Davis, Catherine Boggan, Alyssa Loveday, Hayley Brundige, Anna Masson, Karly Safar, Danielle Sapore, Sara Hitson, Emily Hoffman, Madeleine Lewis, Amanda Eleanor Pitts, Kennedy Childress, Deanna Nagle, Rachel Pilkinton, Ciara Louise Naomi, Evie Briley, Elizabeth Wright, Bailey Ayanna Allen, Katie Myers, Charice Starr, Colleen Ryan, Kelsey Theodore, Kamilya Gosmanova, Emily Robinson, Rae Jones, Kate Stamper, Carlie Nicole, Yasameen Hoffman-Shahin, Kaleb Emmert, Klay Ra Willyn, Travis Daniel Wilson, Brandon Shaw, Johnathan DeWitt Clayton, David Alex Hayes, Mitch Thompson, David Collins, Will Clifft, Ariel Tesla Farley, Joshua Brown, Don Black, Kumail Ibraheem, Andy Renison, William Dirmeyer, Benjamin D. Young, Adam Hughes, Ben McClendon, John Pena, Robert Cremins, Noah King, Mark McKee, Jack Petschulat, Jordan Welsh, Brandon Ray Darr, Jenishea Lewis, Alex Fields, Rodolfo Urquieta, Will Gabelman, JT Taylor, Dhruv Majumdar, Tyler Kibbey, Devin Earhart, Thomas Tran, Geoffrey M. Bennett Hervey, Harlan Mitchell, Wesley Shaun Malik Williams, Kendrick Young.

MLK Day event

Monday 18 January 2016, 1415 Elm St, Knoxville organized by : United Campus Workers.

Join us for our annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration to honor his work for economic, racial, and social justice and to commit to carrying on this work on our campuses, in our state, and in our country! Now as much as ever before, MLK’s dream is a powerful vision that can guide our fight to put the people first! Guest speaker Ajamu Dillahunt from North Carolina.

Those indicating willingness to support or attend the event on the Wherevent page included Rae Jones, Anne Smith, David Dalton, Bob Hutton, Ben Allen, Jordan Welsh, Eleazar Ortiz, William Isom, Stan Johnson, Tom Smith, Jay Butler, Karly Safar, Alex Fields, Katie Myers, Elizabeth Wright, Janet Miles, Sally Buice, Elizabeth Armstrong, Cassie Watters, Michelle Christian, Lee Dunham Sessions, Naomia J. Fountain-Holloway, Jim Sessions, Maurice L. Clark, Sr., Saint Thomas LeDoux, Melanie Barron, Michelle Gore.

Revolutionary Strategies to Beat the Rising Right Wing

Revolutionary Strategies to Beat the Rising Right Wing, was a nationwide conference call organized by Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Sunday October 30, 2016.

What's the nature of this right-wing threat? What has this election cycle changed about the political terrain we're fighting on? How do we need to prepare for whats coming after the election? Hear about these crucial questions from our panel of top political strategists, including Nelini Stamp, Bill Fletcher, Jr., Linda Burnham, and Sendolo Diaminah.

Those indicating they would attend, on Facebook included Melanie Barron.

Now What? Defying Trump and the Left's Way Forward

Now What? Defying Trump and the Left's Way Forward was a phone in webinar organized by Freedom Road Socialist Organization in the wake of the 2016 election.

Now what? We’re all asking ourselves that question in the wake of Trump’s victory. We’ve got urgent strategizing and work to do, together. Join Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson of the Movement for Black Lives and Freedom Road, Calvin Cheung-Miaw, Jodeen Olguin-Taylor of Mijente and WFP, Joe Schwartz of the Democratic Socialists of America, and Sendolo Diaminah of Freedom Road for a discussion of what happened, and what we should be doing to build mass defiance. And above all, how do we build the Left in this, which we know is the only solution to the crises we face?

This event will take place Tuesday November 15, 2016 at 9pm Eastern/8pm Central/6pm Pacific.

Those saying they would attend, on Facebook included Melanie Barron.

"Spring Kickoff" UTK PSA launch, January 2017

JAN 25, Spring Kick-Off Meeting Public Meetup Event by UTK Progressive Student Alliance.

Invited Kumail Ibraheem, Andrea Richardson, Harlan Mitchell, Evie Briley,Victoria Long, Melanie Slappey, George Habeib, Feroza Freeland, Abdalla Husain, Anna Greer, Mia Rochelle Kirby, Jonathan Shoemaker, Andy Renison, Thomas Tran, Robin Christine, Gene Jeter, Travis Daniel Wilson, Sawyer Smith, Caroline Cranford, Grace Belt, Brynn Yeager Sydney Buckner, Beth Borromeo, Haley Elizabeth Boles, Brandon Cartagena, Cassie Grace, Elizabeth Stanfield Sally Buice, Klay Ra Willyn, Conny Zhao, Dana McLemore, Meganne Love, Austin Williams, Leala Holcomb, Melanie Barron.

Eat Out (with) PSA

Hosted by UTK Progressive Student Alliance, Monday, March 6 at 11 AM - 9 PM. Moe's Original Bar B Que- Knoxville, 4405 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, Tennessee 37919.

Percentage night at local restaurant Moe's! Support UTK's oldest progressive student organization, the Progressive Student Alliance, and learn all about what we do!

Those indicating attendance, on Facebook, included Melanie Barron.

Beyond Shell Shock

Beyond Shell Shock: Labor after the Trump disaster was hosted by Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Sunday, February 26 at 8 PM - 9:30 PM.

Hosts Bill Fletcher, Jr.; Erica Smiley; Bob Master; Neidi Dominguez; Bryan Proffitt; and Jeff Crosby;

Join us in this webcast to take a hard look at the place we're in as a labor movement - and consider how we can make the labor movement be a leading force in the resistance to Trump and the fight for a better world.

What's our strategy? What kinds of alliances do we need? Do we just play defense?

In the face of National Right to Work, vicious attacks on workers of color in and out of the workplace, escalating divisions in the AFLCIO and the Democratic Party, and more we've got our work cut out for us. Let's figure out how to win.

Those attending included Melanie Barron.

FRSO comrades

Thomas Wayne Walker November 28, 2017 ·

With the boys <3 <3 <3 — with Melanie Barron and Sy Godwin at Club XYZ.

Knoxville comrades

Darcy Ayers October 31, 2017:

With Josh Smyser, Ben Allen, Cassie Watters, Melanie Barron, Elizabeth Stanfield and Tami Shultz Carney at Knox Public House.

Female comrades and friends

Thomas Wayne Walker March 8, 2018 · Memphis, TN · Lisa Yopp, Bonnie Berrong, Charlene Walker, Katie Haworth, Karly Safar, Anne Barnett, Melanie Barron, Jean Padgett, Jessica Carmichael, Jessica Walker Kim Yopp, Kelly Yopp, Becky Dunlap, Jessica Hruz, Becky Hruz, Alex Hruz, Heather Dockins Lamonya Davis, Larissa Hunt, Jasmine Wallace, Bingham Graves, Aimee Boer, Sandy Hicks, Earnestine Jenkins, Diana Moyer, Jayanni Webster, Cassie Watters, Janet Miles, Thelma Jean Rimmer, KB Brower, Kim Hinchey, Doris Conley Brooks, Jessica Buttermore, Lindsey Smith, Ruba Nuwayhid, Angie Navratil, Jennifer Hayes, Ash-Lee Henderson, Juliet Ucelli, Ashley Underwood, Dana Asbury, Victoria Ledbetter, Amanda Robertson, Ashley Susong, Elly Leary, Mary Jo Connelly, Kim Diehl, Andrea Morales, Emilie Bowman, Tami Sawyer, Anne Smith, Rachel Knox, Anjie Ash, Elizabeth Owen, Dana Smith, Amira Al-Dasouqui, Whitney Maxey, Mischa Nyberg, Lindsey Hill / a personal history with women who held me hold me down held me hold me up taught me teach me loved me love me & a lot more too but like a pig i left you off the list - women hold up half the sky, and i'm confident, cause the sky's in your hands

Fighting outsourcing

Jon Shefner April 16, 2017 ·

Tried to share a post now that is a year old - showing how long and hard we've worked against outsourcing. I couldn't make it work, because apparently I am a FB moron. But this is important to say: We've done it all - in the legislature and in the streets, with our allies and on our own. And not only are we not finished, we are stronger than ever, in Knoxville and across the state. I am so proud of working with Cassie Watters, Melanie Barron, Jayanni Elizabeth, Tom Anderson, Tom Smith, Thomas Wayne Walker, Ed McDaniel, Josh Smyser, Diana Moyer, Jeffrey Lichtenstein, Sarah Eldridge, Fran Ansley, Jim Sessions, Jason Dawsey, Bob Hutton, Troy Smith, JB and everyone I may have left off. I looked at the post from a year ago - and I'm pissed. We've worked really hard at this against a governor who has no reason to outsource other than to attack working people. No data confirms his plan, no need drives it, and no truth is behind it . C'mon April 24, and every other day of struggle until we win! Goddamnit, we are not done yet!

References

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