Alan Barron
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Mr. Barron, 59, was placed on paid administrative leave almost two weeks ago after an assistant principal sat in on his history class while Mr. Barron was discussing the Jim Crow racial segregation laws. As part of the instruction, he showed a video of how white people back then used blackface to imitate African Americans during what they considered entertainment in the 1800s.
According to parents whose children are in the eighth- grade class, the administrator thought the lesson plan was offensive and racist. Mr. Barron was suspended the next day Adrienne Aaron’s husband is African American, and their child was in the class. She said Mr. Barron simply was showing the students what occurred in history. She said her daughter was not offended and felt the subject needs to be discussed.
“She was more offended that they stopped the video,” Mrs. Aaron said. “It had nothing to do with racism. History is history. We need to educate our kids to see how far we’ve come in America. How is that racism?”
District officials met this week with Mr. Barron, who also is the Monroe Township supervisor, but decided not to take action until further investigation is completed. He remains on paid administrative leave. The district, through spokesman Bobb Vergiels, would not acknowledge that Mr. Barron was suspended and only stated that he is “on leave.”
“Mr. Barron has been on leave for about a week while we look into a reported situation in his classroom,” a statement read. “ Because this is a personnel matter that is going through the teacher- contract required steps, we cannot comment any further.”
Representatives with the Michigan Education Association and the Monroe City Education Association, including the president of the union, did not return Monroe News calls. Neither Mr. Barron nor his attorney, C. J. Horkey, chose to comment because the situation has not been settled.
Many parents and students, however, have been rallying for Mr. Barron, who is retiring at the end of this school year after 36 years in the classroom.
A student has been making and distributing T-shirts in support of Mr. Barron, and parents have been campaigning through social media to spread their word.
“Mr. Barron is one of the … great teachers we have in Monroe Public Schools,” one parent wrote in a letter that was distributed through Facebook. “ He has changed many children’s lives over the course of his career. If Mr. Barron felt that he was teaching something that was offensive, he would most definitely not have done it.”
During his suspension, Mr. Barron is not allowed to attend district functions, including an annual banquet where retiring teachers are honored.
“It’s so sad this has happened to him,” Mrs. Aaron said. “He’s one of the best teachers we’ve had. We can’t believe that this is happening.”