Michigan Teacher Claims She Was “Forced To Resign” For Pursuing Rap Career, School Responds
Dominque Brown, an African-American History teacher, claims she was “forced to resign” in January for simply following her dreams outside of education.
The “teacher of the month” was allegedly let go by Taylor Prep High School in Taylor, MI — after seven years of service — when it was found out that she had been pursuing a rap career under the moniker “Drippin Honey.”
A music video of hers titled, “Drippin 101,” includes some of her former students, and has since garnered 212,120 views, as of publication. On her YT, she also has content less suitable for children, the latter causing parents to complain, resulting in her exiting the institution.
“Recently, I was forced to leave my position due to me being a Rapper,” she explained in a description of the aforementioned music video. “A single parent’s disapproval led to my dismissal.”
“My outside life should not be grounds for termination when it does not interfere with my ability to fulfill my responsibilities as a teacher,” she wrote. “My dedication, professionalism, and passion for education have always been unwavering, regardless of any personal pursuits I may have.”
The master’s degree candidate also shared that since a single complaint was made back in Oct. 2023, she found herself in multiple meetings “over five months” defending her rap career.
Brown is standing on the belief that she has been discriminated against.
“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,‘” she recalled. “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?’ Can they come see me in my element before they try to say I’m unprofessional in it?”
Upon being “forced to resign,” Brown expressed that she was asked to erase all her content from YouTube, but instead refused and decided to stand her ground.
“That’s when I knew I HAVE TO BET ON MYSELF CUZ NOBODY WILL IF I DONT,” she wrote. “What troubles me most about this situation is the lack of consideration for the impact and influence I have had on my students’ lives.”
Taylor Prep also issued a statement acknowledging Brown’s sentiments, but asserted that they never “terminated” her.
Read the school’s statement in its entirety below:
“We are deeply concerned by the inaccurate information being shared with the media and circulated on social media by a former teacher, Domonique Brown. While we generally do not address employee matters publicly, our deep concern for the safety and privacy of our students compels us to set the record straight in this case.
Ms. Brown resigned from her position at Taylor Prep on Jan. 24. She was not fired.
Prior to her resignation, administration informed her on several occasions she was violating the teacher code of conduct. Students and their parents reached out to us voicing concerns over Ms. Brown’s promotion of her social media accounts in the classroom. We prohibit employees from engaging with students through any social media platforms. Every teacher agrees to comply with this code of conduct when hired. This has been school policy since day one at Taylor Prep. This is designed to ensure the safety of our students, and we make no apologies for safeguarding their welfare and enforcing this code of conduct.
Since her resignation, Ms. Brown has repeatedly taken to social media and posted videos of her former students, many of whom are minors. Several parents and guardians have complained to us that these posts were shared without their consent. This is a deeply concerning violation of the privacy rights of the families involved, and we have advised the impacted parents and guardians on steps they may take to demand the removal of content featuring their children. To the best of our knowledge, Ms. Brown has yet to honor these demands.
We understand the importance of people wishing to pursue their passions; however, that’s not the question here. Ms. Brown chose to resign to avoid complying with a policy designed to protect our students. Her decision to recast the situation in an effort to promote her personal interests and presence on social media platforms is disheartening. We hope she will acknowledge the privacy rights of her former students and will remove all content featuring unauthorized images of minor children.”
The statement was written by Leah Nixon, spokeswoman for National Heritage Academies.
Take a look at Drippin Honey’s music videos above. Was her resignation warranted?
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