Huckleberry Finn debate on the "N-word"

In my opinion, saying the "N-word" in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is not a racist word and it is not prejudice at all. For the time the book was set in, pre-Civil War, the "N-word" was commonly used. In his book, Twain wanted to get the attention of the readers by drawing attention to something that we don't like hearing. In the article it said that when the "N-word" is replaced with the word slave people tend to ignore it or be less bothered by the word. The word reflects a history that most would like to ignore, but in my opinion if you ignore it, it will only repeat itself. Sure, the teach tolerance, but if they don't teach the way it used to be then we'll never know what we're avoiding. I know it seems like a small issue but I think it impacts a lot of people.
 We have the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press. They shouldn't be able to take that away from someone who wrote the book anti-slavery. They shouldn't be able to take it away from anyone. If you don't like the word, don't say it. I would never say it in public or even in my own home, but that doesn't mean it should be taken out of a classic story because of it's frequency and offensiveness. People listen to this word everyday in a song, but as soon as they see it written it's all of a sudden racist.
In my school, if we read it, I hope it isn't censored. It will be a pretty big deal for me if it is, but by high school we should be mature enough to handle a word.