Council Members Call for End of Use of N-Word
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A City Council committee unanimously passed a symbolic resolution yesterday calling on New Yorkers to stop saying a vulgar term for black people.
The nonbinding resolution, which was introduced by Council Member Leroy Comrie of Queens, has no force of law.
Lawmakers and other community leaders said they are particularly disappointed that some young people use variations of the epithet as a term of endearment. Several people who testified yesterday called them ignorant of their history.
“We find not our children, but our children’s children — the recipients of even greater opportunities built on many generations of both sacrifice and accomplishments — referring to each other colloquially with the worst possible word,” the president of Queens, Helen Marshall, told the committee.
The full council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on the resolution.
