LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Zaila Avant-garde understood the significance of what she was doing as she stood on the Scripps National Spelling Bee stage, peppering pronouncer Jacques Bailly with questions about Greek and Latin roots. Zaila knew she would be the first African American winner of the bee. Declared the champion, Zaila jumped and twirled with joy, only flinching in surprise when confetti was shot onto the stage. “I was pretty relaxed on the subject of Murraya and pretty much any other word I got,” Zaila said. Joe Skipper via Reuters Zaila Avant-garde, 14, from New Orleans, Louisiana, won the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals on Thursday.

Source: Huffington Post July 09, 2021 02:48 UTC