N-word essay contest winners

Fifteen middle school students from Queens were among the 26 winners of Councilmember Leroy Comrie’s second annual Black History Month Essay Contest focusing on abolishing the N-word.
This year’s theme was “Why the N-Word Should Never Be Used.”
In a ceremony at City Hall, Comrie presented a City Council citation to Antione Bannerman, Justin Chiu, Risham Dhillon, Rachel Francis, Brittany Fullerton, Vishaal A. Girdharie, Tyler G. Joseph, Karen Liz, Shania Moulton, Neasiha Rayani, Brittany Richards, Shacquia Romollie, Sajana Sivagnanam, Holden Stein, and Venosa Terreus, all of Queens.
Other winners were Nishat Ahmed, Quinton Bonaparte, Benjamin Mensah, Kayla Montaque, Alexis Nduka, Kelvin Oppong, Christian Padilla, Whitney Pierrot, Rahdaisy Reyes, Destinee Charles, and Christine Ayanna Croasdaile.
“I want to congratulate these young leaders who have answered the call of leadership,” said Comrie. “I also want to thank their families, teachers and principals for encouraging their participation. 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.
Additionally, the winners received gift packages from co-sponsors, the Abolish the N-Word Project and free tickets to performances of the upcoming UniverSoul Circus.