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14-Year-Old Zaila Avant-garde Is the First African American Scripps Spelling Bee Champion

HeadlineJul 09, 2021

Fourteen-year-old Zaila Avant-garde has become the first-ever African American winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Zaila Avant-garde: “Murraya, M-U-R-R-A-Y-A.”

Spelling bee judge: “That is correct!”

The New Orleans teen is also a basketball prodigy and holds three Guinness World Records in dribbling. Zaila Avant-garde entered the world of competitive spelling just two years ago.

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