{"id":6384,"date":"2021-07-09T15:51:30","date_gmt":"2021-07-09T15:51:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/?p=6384"},"modified":"2021-07-09T16:09:37","modified_gmt":"2021-07-09T16:09:37","slug":"meet-zaila-avant-garde-the-first-african-american-winner-of-the-scripps-spelling-bee-and-basketball-prodigy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/meet-zaila-avant-garde-the-first-african-american-winner-of-the-scripps-spelling-bee-and-basketball-prodigy\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Zaila Avant-garde: The First African-American Winner Of The Scripps Spelling Bee, And Basketball Prodigy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/zaila.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6385\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/zaila.png 800w, https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/zaila-300x206.png 300w, https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/zaila-768x528.png 768w, https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/zaila-220x150.png 220w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>On Thursday night, history was made as 14-year-old Zaila Avant-garde became the first African-American winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The winning word was \u201cMurraya,\u201d which is a species of shrub or small tree native to Asia and Australia. In a heartwarming clip below, watch Avant-garde dance with glee as she conquered the final word that would crown her as the nation\u2019s winner:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<p><\/p><center><p><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">DO IT, BABYGIRL!! The first African-American Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bSK1QCHFej\">pic.twitter.com\/bSK1QCHFej<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 AGD. (@TheLexGabrielle) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheLexGabrielle\/status\/1413321166966624265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">July 9, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><\/p><\/center><p><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>&#8220;I was pretty relaxed on the subject of Murraya and pretty much any other word I got,&#8221; said Avant-garde, whose confidence in her abilities is admirable. But it\u2019s certainly not in vain, as her spelling coach Cole Shafer-Ray (2015 runner-up of the Scripps spelling bee) described his pupil as different than any speller he\u2019s ever witnessed.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u201cShe basically knew the definition of every word that we did, like pretty much verbatim. She knew not just the word but the story behind the word, why every letter had to be that letter and couldn\u2019t be anything else,\u201d he said in an interview with <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/espn\/story\/_\/id\/31786472\/louisiana-teen-zaila-avant-garde-correctly-spells-m-u-r-r-y-win-scripps-national-spelling-bee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>ESPN<\/strong><\/a><strong>.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Discovering that the bee has endured for 96 years without an African-American winner was rather appalling. Until now, the fictional character Akeelah from the esteemed movie <\/strong><strong><em>Akeelah and the Bee <\/em><\/strong><strong>has served as inspiration, but Avant-garde provides a real-life example of groundbreaking Black excellence.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Keke Palmer, who starred as Akeelah, shared her excitement about Avant-garde\u2019s historical win in an Instagram post. \u201cTHE REAL LIFE AKEELAH YOU GUYS!! The real life one. I\u2019m so happy in my heart,\u201d she said. \u201cA couple of weeks ago I sent in a video encouraging all the contestants and for this to happen just feels so spiritual! I am so happy. Major love to Doug Atchinson [who] allowed me to act a dream and thank God for letting me live to see it come to fruition.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/brparents.com\/media\/cache\/main_image\/custom\/domain_1\/image_files\/sitemgr_photo_33985.jpg\" alt=\"Zaila Avant-Garde | Baton Rouge Parents Magazine\" title=\"\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>To truly understand her innate talent in spelling, it\u2019s important to know that Avant-garde described spelling as a <em>side hobby<\/em>, as her main priority is basketball. No big deal, but the 14-year-old also happens to have three Guinness World Records for dribbling multiple basketballs simultaneously.\u201cBasketball, I\u2019m not just playing it. I\u2019m really trying to go somewhere with it. Basketball is what I do,\u201d Zaila said in an interview with <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/health-coronavirus-pandemic-national-spelling-bee-entertainment-music-81fe0535f20ba853824b26d3fefa7fe9?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>AP<\/strong><\/a><strong>. \u201cSpelling is really a side thing I do. It\u2019s like a little hors d\u2019ouevre. But basketball\u2019s like the main dish.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>And yet, Avant-garde is especially dedicated to spelling, and spends almost a full work day practicing. \u201cFor spelling, I usually try to do about 13,000 words (per day), and that usually takes about seven hours or so,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t let it go way too overboard, of course. I\u2019ve got school and basketball to do.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Below, watch Avant-garde\u2019s extraordinary gifts in action\u2013\u2013both on the court and on the stage.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe  id=\"_ytid_28847\"  width=\"800\" height=\"450\"  data-origwidth=\"800\" data-origheight=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mP3GeqONIS0?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;disablekb=0&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe  id=\"_ytid_72789\"  width=\"800\" height=\"450\"  data-origwidth=\"800\" data-origheight=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sH2E1m8Fseg?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;disablekb=0&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Thursday night, history was made as 14-year-old Zaila Avant-garde became the first African-American winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.&nbsp; The winning word was \u201cMurraya,\u201d which is a species of shrub or small tree native to Asia and Australia. In a heartwarming clip below, watch Avant-garde dance with glee as she conquered the final [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[711,175],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports-3","category-arts-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.watchjaro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}