A racial slur incident involving a Georgia high school marching band was actually a hoax, according to a local news report.

Students at Brookwood High School in Gwinnett County, Georgia, faced a significant backlash after the marching band randomly flashed a racial slur during a performance. The slur, aimed at black Americans, was displayed on four poster boards. Initially, community members called for the school to expel the students behind the incident. Now, it’s been revealed that the students behind the posters are minorities themselves. Two of the students are black.

In a letter to the community, Brookwood Principal William Bo Ford Jr. explained that four minority students were behind the slur incident. He also explained that the hoax was intentional. According to the letter, all four students knew that their posters would spell out the slur.

“As promised, we started an investigation into this matter, and I wanted to share with you our current findings and the steps we are taking with the students who were involved,” Ford announced earlier this week. “After extensive interviews with many students, we have determined that three seniors intentionally planned and executed the use of the sousaphone covers to spell out a completely unacceptable, racist term. The fourth student, a junior, who carried one of the letters spelling out the word, appears to have gone along with the plan at the last minute. However, all four of the students knew what was going to happen and knew what they were spelling out during the halftime show.”

One Brookwood High School parent said that the racial hoax shows that the community needs to ask why these students have such a low sense of self-worth.

“This shows a need for conversations about race,” Marlyn Tillman said to a local news outlet. “What propelled this? What lack of self-worth must these students have to do this?”