Audra Granger says her 15-year-old son was harassed, cyber bullied and assaulted twice by his Harper Creek High School classmates for taking a stand against hatred toward black people.

It got bad enough that, within about a week, she transferred him to Battle Creek Central.

That was in October. On Monday night, Granger was in front of the district's Board of Education asking for a change.

"It's too late for my child, but it's not too late for other children that may not have a voice as strong as ours," she said.

Granger, who is married to Battle Creek Central High School varsity football coach Lorin Granger, told school board members that her son, who is white, and a group of classmates talked during lunch on Sept. 30 about the NFL national anthem protests and agreed on the need for players to stand for the anthem.

But her son became frustrated when multiple classmates began referring to blacks using a racial slur and saying they had to leave the country, she said.

Her son told his classmates that it was not OK to make racial slurs and that he was tired of it, she said. Brandon Randle, who her son calls his brother, is black and moved in with the family more than two years ago. Randle now plays football for Michigan State University.

"We are a diverse family," Audra Granger, who is white, told the board in tears. "I have a black son. He has a black brother so, yes, we are very sensitive to racial slurs."

Granger said her son's classmates used a racial slur for blacks to tell him that he loved black people, to go to a different school because no one wanted him there, and that he and blacks should leave the country.

Granger said students recorded a video of a fight between her son and another student and circulated the video to their classmates. She tried to get the video so that it wouldn't make it to the internet.

She transferred her son to Battle Creek Central High School on Oct. 5. She did not name her son as she addressed the board and asked that he not be named by the Battle Creek Enquirer.

The Grangers met with high school Principal Dennis Anthony and left a list with the names of students who were making the racial slurs. Audra Granger said Anthony later told her that sometimes change is better.

Anthony declined to comment Tuesday.

Granger said the Michigan High School Athletic Association responded faster to her request to transfer her son's athletic eligibility to another school than Harper Creek responded to her concerns about the way her son was being treated in school.

Granger said she received a letter from the district in November stating that it had taken action to correct the situation, but the letter did not contain specifics.

Board President Tim Martin and Superintendent Rob Ridgeway expressed sympathy for the Grangers during the board meeting.

Neither Martin nor Ridgeway wanted to comment further on the incidents, though Martin said the district would act on them.

Ridgeway said the incidents are still under investigation and issued a prepared statement after the meeting.

"Harper Creek Community Schools is committed to a culturally responsive environment where everyone achieves their highest potential regardless of race, religion, socioeconomic status, gender or sexual orientation," Ridgeway wrote.

"We recognize the need to immerse ourselves in learning about the systematic racism that exists in our organization, respond by eliminating district policies, practices and messaging that reinforce or fails to eliminate disparities of power, access, achievement and opportunity between races and target groups," he added.

Contact Battle Creek Enquirer education reporter Noe Hernandez at 269-966-0684 or nhernandez@battlecreekenquirer.com.