How Faizan Zaki’s Spelling Bee Win Marks a New Era
From jhumkas to on-stage prayers, Indian American spellers are reshaping the bee as a place for cultural belonging.
When 13-year-old Faizan Zaki stepped up to the microphone during the final round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the scene felt familiar. Just a year ago, he had stood in the same spot — and lost. And so, before pronouncer Jacques Bailly read out the word, he told everyone, especially Zaki, to take a deep breath. “That didn’t help at all,” Zaki joked.
This time, however, Zaki knew the word — éclaircissement — and spelled it with ease. Thunderous applause broke out.
With his win, Zaki became the 32nd Indian American national spelling bee winner — 40 years after Balu Natarajan became the first, also with a French word (milieu). Yet, apart from this trend, which we’ve covered extensively, something else is afoot. Zaki and his peers represent a new chapter in how the Indian American community shows up on the literal spelling bee stage.