Can you spell Murraya? (Hint: it's a type of tree)
14-year-old Zaila Avant-Garde from New Orleans nailed it during the Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday and walked away as the first-ever African-American winner in the competition's nearly 100-year history.
The only black winner before was Jody-Anne Maxwell, representing Jamaica in 1998.
Avant-Garde, an 8th grader, receives $50,000.
Other words she had to navigate: querimonious, solidungulate, and Nepeta
Avant-Garde also holds three Guinness World Records for basketball, including the most "bounce juggles" in 1 minute.
Zaila's final word was Murraya but watch below as she gives a nod to a famous comedian and a MAJOR Shout Out to Chaitra Thummala from San Ramon, who earned second place in the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Photo Credit: Getty