POWHATAN, Va. -- Emotions ran high following a sudden end to a Powhatan School Board meeting Tuesday night.
The school board chair said the meeting ended abruptly after the fire marshal told them the number of people in attendance exceeded the room's allowed capacity.
Hundreds of people wearing black packed the space shoulder-to-shoulder before the meeting began.
Community members came ready to speak during public comment to denounce alleged racism they said is taking place in the county's schools.
It comes following a call from the local NAACP chapter asking community members to show up after a viral photo that showed a racial slur written on a student's arm.
School board members started the meeting, but quickly addressed the volume of people in attendance.
“We’ve been instructed by the fire marshal that unless you are in a chair you can not be here,” school board chair Dr. James Taylor said.
Some people shuffled out into the hallway which caused the confined space to become cramped. Others began moving outside to help with overcrowding.
However, minutes later, the school board chair stopped the meeting and asked everyone to leave. He said they would work to find another space to accommodate the crowd in the coming weeks.
“You don’t want to hear anyone because you canceled this meeting,” said Brenda Coles, an advocate representing a Powhatan family.
Some community members questioned why they didn’t host the meeting in a larger space after a call to attend the meeting circulated on social media for a week.
One parent, Tiffany Jackson, said she feels like everything is “hush-hush.”
“The racism thing, they don’t want people to know that because they want more people to come here,” Jackson said.
Lian Jackson of Cobra One questioned why they didn’t move the meeting to the gym which is steps away from the campus where the board meeting was initially held.
The meeting's attendees say they won’t let Tuesday's deterred meeting stop them from showing up to a rescheduled one, as they want to vocalize what they say has to change within the school system.
“Tonight they thought they silenced our voices because they thought we didn’t have an environment that was conducive for everyone to be heard," said Lisa Thompson a community member. "It just fed us even more to come out armed with people."
CBS 6 took these concerns to the school board chair who declined to comment.
Only school board member Michele Ward has responded to CBS 6's multiple requests for comment on the allegations of racism in school.
She denounced the incidents and called for reform for consequences and expanded education surrounding the topic.
The superintendent also sent an email Sunday to parents saying hateful speech will not be tolerated and that the district will be consulting with the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities to educate staff and students on creating safe spaces.
Then school board meeting has been rescheduled for Monday, March 18 at 6 p.m.
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