A fifth grade teacher in Tennessee assigned as homework, a crossword puzzle which used the racial epithet as an answer to the puzzle. The teacher said the puzzle came from a website www.edhelper.com which has materials for use by teachers.

The clue is listed as: 17 Across "an insulting way to label a black person." The puzzle was assigned as a supplement to a book called "Sounder" which is about racial bigotry, as seen though a young black boy's eyes.

The schools principal said that the teacher justified it as a way to teach about how it was at that time.

Source: www.abcnews.go.com

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