Thu, Jul 08, 2021
Newsweek
U.S.

Zaila Avante-garde, a 13-year-old, Becomes First Black Spelling Bee Champion

By
U.S.

Zaila Avante-garde on Thursday night correctly spelled "murraya," which is a genus of flowering plants found in Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. The correct spelling won Avante-garde the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee championship.

Avante-garde, a 13-year-old from Harvey, Louisiana—a southern suburb of New Orleans—became the first Black student to win the prestigious championship.

After the teenager correctly spelled the word "M-U-R-R-A-Y-A" she was greeted by an astounding, "That is correct!" Avante-garde jumped and completely turned a 360 in celebration, and then stood still as a barrage of confetti shot from the air. She twirled again as the newest champion.

The Spelling Bee was held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Reunion, Florida.

13-year-old Zaila Avant-garde of Louisiana is your 93rd Scripps National #SpellingBee champion ‼️

The first African-American winner of the competition 👏 pic.twitter.com/y2Y5dAGcVN

— ESPN (@espn) July 9, 2021

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Spelling Bee
The 11 finalists of the Scripps National Spelling Bee sit on stage as the Finals begins, during a visit by US First Lady Jill Biden, in Orlando, Florida on July 8, 2021. Photo by JIM WATSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

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