Winners Feted

Councilmember Leroy Comrie recently concluded his annual essay contest regarding the abolishment of the N-word with visits to two Queens middle schools.
Several winners were unable to attend the official City Hall ceremony last month and received their awards last week personally from Comrie during special ceremonies at Middle School 172 in Floral Park and Middle School 226 in South Ozone Park.
Receiving awards were: Vishaal A. Girdharie, Brittany Richards, Shacquia Romollie, and Holden Stein.
Comrie, with the Abolish The N-Word Project Inc. and the UniverSoul Circus, sponsored the essay contest this year, which asked middle school students in New York City to consider abolishing the N-word. The theme of the essay contest was “Why The N-Word Should Never Be Used.” There were 26 overall winners were a diverse group from middle schools across the city and each received a City Council citation from Comrie.
Additionally, the winners received gift packages from the Abolish The N-Word Project and free tickets to performances of the upcoming UniverSoul Circus.
“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.”
The essay activities concluded with UniverSoul Circus and its founder/CEO Cedric Walker presenting an award to Comrie during a circus performance on Wednesday, April 16 at Roy Wilkins Park in Jamaica. The award was made in honor of his on-going efforts to encourage the abolishment of the use of the n-word slur.
“The UniverSoul Circus is thrilled to have joined Councilmember Leroy Comrie and the Abolish The N-Word Project in sponsoring this year’s city-wide essay contest,” said Walker. “For the last 15 years our goal has been to weave positive messages into our multi-cultural circus. By partnering with Councilmember Comrie, we are incorporating another important message that we hope will resonate with families long after the show.”