Her victory made national news, upending stereotypes about race less than 50 years after the end of slavery. It also sparked racist fury.

A 14-year-old student spells 21 words correctly during a 90-second spell-off to claim the annual competition.

Surya Kapu, 13, misspelled "leucovorin" — a medicine used to counteract the side effects of a cancer drug. His family said that Scripps omitted details when he asked a question about the word's roots.

Surya Kapu, 13, misspelled "leucovorin" — a medicine used to counteract the side effects of a cancer drug. His family said that Scripps omitted details when he asked a question about the word's roots.

Spellers were greeted with a new preliminary-round format that gave them no time to get comfortable. They had to get through three words in one turn at the microphone to continue in the bee.

Zaila Avant-garde, the first African American winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, talked about how she got started in competitive spelling and what she has planned for the future.

Precocious students from around the state gathered in Atlanta on March 15 for the Georgia Association of Educators State Spelling Bee. The winner could...