Some Montgomery County parents gathered for a meeting Tuesday night to discuss racism at one of their local schools.
School leaders at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac recently caught students handing out "N-Word" passes on pieces of paper during lunch. According to the school, the pieces of paper essentially gave other student the right to use the offensive term.
The Winston Churchill High School PTSA organized Tuesday's forum to give parents an outlet to discuss their concerns.
"Folks, you've got to get involved," urged PTSA President Bruce Adelson to parents in attendance.
Dr. Peter Moran, the director of the Churchill Schools Cluster, admitted that there is a larger problem with hatred that the community needs to address.
"We haven't really talked about it," he said.
Churchill Principal Brandice Heckert told the crowd that she is working to address racism in the school by asking for solutions from students. The principal added both she and Moran are putting together a 20-point action plan to tackle the problem.
Some parents at the meeting said that racist incidents have been happening at Churchill for years and that the school has picked up a negative reputation from families of color.
However, Ayana Major, a parent of a freshman at the school, said racism is a problem that needs to be solved across the region.
"It's everywhere," she said. "So, it's not like we look at this and say, 'there's only a history at Churchill.' There's a history everywhere."