{"id":58114,"date":"2021-07-12T08:00:13","date_gmt":"2021-07-12T12:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=58114"},"modified":"2021-07-11T17:44:19","modified_gmt":"2021-07-11T21:44:19","slug":"zaila-avant-garde-2021-scripps-national-spelling-bee-champ-stands-where-black-children-were-once-kept-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/zaila-avant-garde-2021-scripps-national-spelling-bee-champ-stands-where-black-children-were-once-kept-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Zaila Avant-garde \u2013 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee champ \u2013 stands where Black children were once kept out"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When\u00a0Zaila Avant-garde<\/a>, 14, won the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee on July 8, 2021, she became the first Black American to win in the competition\u2019s history. Shalini Shankar, a scholar of spelling bees, breaks down the importance of this historical moment.<\/em><\/p>\n

Why is it news that an African American won this championship?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

It\u2019s significant because not so long ago, Black children would have faced a lot of obstacles just to compete in this spelling bee.<\/p>\n

In fact, Black children were\u00a0routinely sidelined from participating on the national stage<\/a>\u00a0until well after the passage of the\u00a01964 Civil Rights Act<\/a>. Even after schools were ordered to racially integrate in the late 1950s, spelling bees were largely all-white affairs, thanks to regional organizers who routinely found ways to\u00a0keep interested Black children from advancing in the contest<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Avant-garde\u2019s victory is also significant because, like with any sport, people love to celebrate new records. This one is especially welcome because with the exception of Jamaican\u00a0Jody-Anne Maxwell\u2019s win in 1998<\/a>, the Scripps National Spelling Bee has never had a Black winner.<\/p>\n