Chicago: Zaila Avant-Garde, 14, set a new precedent last week by winning the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee. It was the first time in the history of the competition that a black American girl won. Shalini Shankar, a scholar of spelling competitions, explains the significance of this historical moment.
Why is it news that an African American won this championship? This is important because it wasn’t long before black kids faced so many obstacles just to participate in this competition. In fact, black children were prevented from participating on the national stage until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. Even after schools were ordered to be racially integrated in the late 1950s, only whites could participate in competitions such as the Spelling Bee. Some regional organizers were also responsible for this, who regularly found ways to prevent interested black children from advancing to the competition. Avant-garde victories are also important because, like in any sport, people like to celebrate every new record they make. This is particularly welcome because the Scripps National Spelling Bee has never had a black winner, with the exception of Jamaica’s Jodie-Anne Maxwell victory in 1998.
This can be attributed to decades of loss that caused black schools to lack the resources to support and train students for activities like the spelling bee. It may sound surprising, but special brain games like the spelling bee and many other kids’ competitions require a lot of expertise like spelling instructors to participate in. What does it take to become a spelling bee champion? To become a spelling bee champion, it is important to have several characteristics. First and foremost you need to have a love of the English language, specifically philology – it is the historical development of language – and etymology – the study of word origins and roots.
Winners must have the ability to build a vast knowledge base in these areas and use it in a timely manner during competition. Without this interest, the task of studying thousands of words per day, as the legendary speller does, would be at best. Also, as I learned while researching my book “Beeline: What Spelling Bees Reveal About Generation Jesus’ New Path to Success”, another thing that is equally important is the support of parents who are a The aspiring speller gets in terms of day-to-day study, expert coaching, and access to business word lists and resources designed by coaching companies. The Scripps National Spelling Bee also distributes word lists. However, the champions have told me that these are not wide enough to overcome the increasing difficulty in the competition.
Zella’s avant-garde father realized her ability to spell when she was about 10 years old, though relatively late in terms of competition, with eligibility ending after the eighth grade, when most sellers are 14. are of years. The spellers I studied started competing at the age of 6 or 7, and by age 10, he became more comfortable with the format of the competition. Still, Jella made great strides over 2019, when she was eliminated from the third round of the competition, which I watched in National Harbor, Maryland.
Her stupendous victory in the competition in 2021 narrates the story of her great hard work, dedication, and exceptional ability, as well as the hard work and support of her parents. This win by Zella will attract more people from diverse backgrounds to these competitions in the future. With Zella’s victory, aspiring black kids no longer have to rely on imaginary inspiration to get ahead. I believe Zella’s victory will be very inspiring, just as Venus and Serena Williams have been the new generation of black women’s tennis champions.
-The Conversation
