The fallout continues from a viral video that shows a group of Carroll ISD students chanting a racial slur. The video has sparked tough conversations throughout the school district, and Wednesday night, the mayor of Southlake hosted a "mom to mom" community discussion on how to move forward.
"We know that we have an issue we have to deal with, that's why we're here tonight. We're not going to hide our head in the sand," Southlake Mayor Laura Hill said.
The parents just kept coming, filling added chairs in a crowded room.
"I really thought there was only going to be a couple of us and it's full," one parent noted.
Southlake mothers lined up with concerns over what their children have faced in Carroll ISD.
"It's been a long time and our family hasn't really felt welcome here," said parent Lauren Laredo.
"My kids went through I can't tell you how many incidents throughout the time we lived here," another African-American mother added. "And as a result they still suffer emotional problems from it."
The past two weeks have opened wounds many didn't know were there since the video, that NBC 5 chose to blur and bleep, surfaced on social media showing a group of students chanting racial slurs.
"My issue was how I felt like it was being handled," said Carroll ISD parent Ronell Smith.
Smith was one parent who spoke at a recent special school board meeting on the issue. He said he heard from dozens of people afterward.
"A lot of them felt that we were part of the problem and not the solution," Smith said. "That here we were complaining about something that a lot of them didn't feel was a real issue."
So Smith wrote an editorial in The Dallas Morning News, calling for a focus on solutions.
"We have to start focusing on we are Southlake," Smith said. "We're unique parts of the same whole, once we do that we can work together. The key is being civil."
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Wednesday night, city and school leaders talked about plans for a cultural competency program, including diversity training for teachers and bringing empowering speakers to campus.
Steps forward, but many mothers in the room said the true test is at their own dinner tables.
"Thank you school district, but parents it's on us ultimately," said parent Martha Blue.
Carroll ISD has said the students involved in that video have been disciplined, though they can't say how. The school board also said it's making changes to the student code of conduct.
