T-R-A-I-L-B-L-A-Z-E-R: The History Behind Zaila Avant-garde’s Spelling Bee Win

After correctly spelling the word “murraya,” 14-year-old Zaila Avant-garde became the first Black American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee in the competition’s 96-year history.

Avant-garde’s talent for spelling was first noticed by her father when she was 10 years old. Together they watched the 2017 national spelling bee on television, and she spelled the winning word, “marocain,” correctly. At 12, she started preparing for the competition herself and, with less than two years of preparation, she made history.

Spelling is only one of Avant-garde’s many talents; she is also a basketball prodigy who holds three Guinness World Record titles for her basketball skills. She also has big aspirations: Avant-garde wants to attend Harvard University and, one day, work for NASA.

Avant-garde’s historic win was possible because all children who meet the national spelling bee’s age and grade requirements are allowed to compete, but that wasn’t always the case. Racial segregation and discrimination prevented Black children from competing in the competition for years after the first spelling bee took place in 1925. In an interview with ABC News, Avant-garde herself noted that in the 1930s, contestant MacNolia Cox, a Black American 13-year-old from Ohio, endured segregated transportation and lodging and was eliminated after being given a word that wasn’t on the official list. Despite the obstacles, Cox came in fifth place.

Cox was an exception to the rule: Most Black children were not even allowed to compete in their district and regional bees, which are the only way to qualify for the national competition. That was the experience of 13-year-old George F. Jackson, who was denied the chance to participate in his local competition in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1962. Even after the Supreme Court decision on Brown v. Board of Education, which ruled segregation unconstitutional, and protests led by the NAACP, Black children in Lynchburg were denied participation.

In places like Tennessee, Maryland, and Alabama, there were separate spelling competitions for Black children, but these Black-only bees didn’t qualify students for regional competitions and therefore failed to make them eligible for the national bee.

The first winner of color, Puerto Rican Hugh Tosteson García, didn’t prevail until 1975. A decade later, in 1985, Balu Natarajan became the first Indian-American winner, and in 1998, Jody-Anne Maxwell from Jamaica became the first Black winner.

Avant-garde may be the first Black American to win the spelling bee, but she hopes she won’t be the last. However, that may be difficult for many, given that the biggest barrier to success for many young spellers is financial. Dr. Shalini Shankar, professor of anthropology and Asian American Studies at Northwestern University, wrote for CNN, “how inaccessible this beloved contest has become to all but the most educated families with the financial means to train their children.”

Dr. Shankar is the author of Beeline: What Spelling Bees Reveal About Generation Z’s New Path to Success, which contains interviews with dozens of bee contestants, parents, and judges. She argues that “without time or money to support a childhood career in spelling, working-class kids have little chance of developing skill sets comparable to kids from middle-class families, despite their interest and enthusiasm.”

Spelling bee finalists study thousands of words per day, often with the help of parents and expensive coaches. Another key to succeeding in the competition is reading skills, which requires access to books and an environment conducive to reading.

The current structure also favors children who come from affluent neighborhoods and school districts, where regional qualifying competitions take place. Underfunded schools are unlikely to host spelling bees due to their lack of resources, which makes the competition inaccessible for many students.

Experts like Dr. Shankar call for a focus on creating access for socioeconomically disadvantaged children by providing scholarships, technology, and study materials for all spellers.

The spelling bee is an iconic American tradition that provides an incredible opportunity for young people to dive into the art of spelling, learn new words, and explore new ways to understand the world. Avant-garde’s win brought her a grand trophy and $50,000, but it also brought hope to many Black young spellers who dream of competing on the national stage.

Avant-garde is a trailblazer for future generations of Black children who are now able to see themselves jumping in the air and spinning their way through a rain of confetti as they celebrate big achievements — in education or anything else.