One wonders how teachers introduced the assignment, and whether clarification was necessary:

A year ago City Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) led a successful battle to ban the N-word from New Yorker’s lips and last week he honored youngsters who made sure it stays that way.

The councilman awarded 26 city middle-schoolers official city citations for winning the second annual Black History Month Essay Contest at City Hall on March 19. The subject for the 250-word essay was “Why the N-word Should Never be Used,” a theme Comrie supports strongly.

These students were able to express their ideas about why the ‘N-word’ should never be used and it is my hope that they will begin to work with their peers in hopefully putting an end to this cultural phenomena,” he said in a statement.

Of the 26 winners, 15 were from Queens schools, including MS 8 in Jamaica, MS 172 in Floral Park, MS 226 in South Ozone Park, IS 147 in Queens Village, MS 147 in Cambria Heights and MS 268 in Jamaica.