by Jeroslyn JoVonn
March 22, 2024
A former Detroit teacher is preparing to launch a lawsuit against the school she believes fired her because of her work as a rapper.
A former Detroit teacher is preparing to launch a lawsuit against the school she believes fired her because of her work as a rapper.
Domonique Brown was a U.S. history teacher at Taylor Preparatory High School, where she was named Teacher of the Month in December. However, she was recently fired from her job after an anonymous parent complained about her rap career, Fox 2 Detroit reports.
Brown worked as a teacher for seven years while simultaneously pursuing a master's degree and pursuing her doctorate. In October, an anonymous parent filed a complaint about the music she released under her rap persona “Drippin Honey.” The complaint led to five months of meetings with the school where she had to defend her music career.
“The first meeting was with my dean and my principal and they just told me, 'Hey, a parent said they saw your social media and that you're a bad influence because you're a rapper,'” Brown recalled itself.
The parent continued to complain that Brown worked as a teacher at the school. When Brown asked for a formal written complaint, she never received one.
“I thought, 'Can we tell the parents to come and see the professionalism, see me in a classroom, see me after school, see me at all the games, see me dropping off kids every day and buying food?'” Brown said. “Can you see me in my element before you try to say I’m unprofessional at this?”
She appeals to parents and the school to use her personal life to determine whether or not she is suitable to teach high school students. Since her release, Brown released her music video for the single “Drippin 101,” which features some of her former students dancing and singing with her.
“My external life should not be grounds for termination if it does not interfere with my ability to fulfill my duties as a teacher,” Brown wrote under her latest music video on YouTube.
“My commitment, professionalism and passion for education have always been unwavering, regardless of my personal interests.”
Brown believes she was discriminated against because of her style of music. She says the school has not been transparent about why she was fired and she is now working to hire a lawyer to take legal action.
“If I was a terrible teacher, you all would have dropped me the day there was a problem,” Brown said.
The school released a statement commenting on its decision to fire Brown because he appeared to violate its “distraction-free” learning environment.
“Student well-being remains at the forefront of everything we do, and we will continue to promote a distraction-free teaching and learning environment focused on student success,” the school said.