A Detroit Teacher Is Suing After Claiming She Was Wrongfully Fired For Being A Rapper Part-Time
A former Detroit teacher is claiming she was fired for taking on a side hustle as a rapper, and she’s ready to sue.
Domonique Brown was hired as a U.S. history teacher at Taylor Preparatory High School, and ultimately garnered so much favor that she was named teacher of the month in December. Just mere months later she claims she was let go from the position following an anonymous complaint from a parent her rap career.
Per a report from Black Enterprise, Brown was on the path to a doctorate degree while juggling her teaching duties at the school. Last fall, an anonymous parent brought her rap persona “Drippin Honey,” to the attention of the school’s administrators, which led to five months of meetings with the school in which she had to defend her part-time passion.
“The first meeting was with my dean and my principal and they were just telling me, ‘Hey, a parent said that they’ve seen your social media, and that you’re a bad influence because you’re a rapper,’” Brown said according to the outlet.
Brown said she never received a formal complaint in writing after requesting one.
“I was like hey well can we tell that parent to come in and see professionalism, see me in a classroom, see me after school, see me at all the games, see me dropping kids off everyday, buying food?” Brown said per Black Enterprise. “Can they come see me in my element before they try to say I’m unprofessional in it?”
Since her firing, the school has released a statement, reinforcing their decision to part ways with Brown.
The school released a statement standing by their decision to fire Brown who seemingly went against their “distraction-free” learning environment.
“Student well-being remains at the forefront of everything we do, and we will continue fostering a distraction-free teaching and learning environment focused on student success,” the school said.
Brown isn’t in agreement, and claims she will be working with a lawyer to take legal action.
“My dedication, professionalism, and passion for education have always been unwavering, regardless of any personal pursuits I may have.” She adds, “If I was a horrible teacher, y’all would have dropped me the day it was a problem,” Brown said.
