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Zaila Avant-garde Wins Scripps National Spelling Bee, Becomes 1st African American Champion

Zaila Avant-garde Wins Scripps National Spelling Bee, Becomes 1st African American Champion

By goodblacknews on July 8, 2021

Zaila Avant-garde, 14, won the Scripps National Spelling Bee championship held in Lake Buena Vista, Florida today, becoming the first African American winner and only the second Black champion in the bee’s 96-year history.

Avant-garde, who hails from Harvey, Louisiana, describes spelling as her side hobby. Basketball is her main extra-curricular focus — she holds three Guinness world records for dribbling multiple balls simultaneously.

https://twitter.com/BillyHeyen/status/1413316049655762944

Jody-Anne Maxwell of Jamaica, who won the bee in 1998, was the competition’s first Black champion.

This was the first Bee held since the COVID-19 pandemic forced its cancellation in 2020.

Read more: https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/31786472/louisiana-teen-zaila-avant-garde-correctly-spells-m-u-r-r-y-win-scripps-national-spelling-bee