Scripps National Spelling Bee has crowned a new champion. Dev Shah won the competition Thursday taking home a $50,000 prize. Many of the news stories reporting on the 14-year-old’s win mention the history of Scripp’s competition, which started in 1925. But few, if any, touch on the first winner of a national spelling competition, a Black girl named Marie C. Bolden.
In 1908, Bolden won the first national spelling bee in the U.S. Sadly, many didn’t know her story until decades after she passed. Even her family was in the dark about her accomplishment. Bolden’s grandson, Mark Brown, told NPR she never mentioned winning a gold medal in front of thousands. When Bolden won, just 50 years after the civil war, it made national news. The young girl spelled out 500 words perfectly, leading her hometown team of Cleveland, Ohio to victory.
“She never talked about this award, this amazing accomplishment,” Brown told NPR in an interview. “But even Booker T. Washington mentioned [it] in his speeches.”
Bolden’s win was unprecedented. Her team was trailing in a field that included teams from New Orleans, Pittsburgh, and Erie, PA. Then Bolden catapulted her team to a win. However, Bolden never showed off her gold medal
It was only after Bolden died that her family realize her historic accomplishment, according to NPR. While going through a box of her belongings, Brown told the news outlet family found a newspaper clipping from The Plain Dealer relating the story of the Black girl who out-spelled hundreds of white children. After her victory, Bolden was greeted by “a storm of applause” and praises from hundreds of people.
History of National Spelling Bees
While the Scripps competition we know today started in 1925, Cleveland’s 1908 Spelling Bee was the first national spelling contest. Even the Guinness World Records recognized it as the first nationwide spelling bee. Bolden’s win regained attention in 2021 after Zaila Avant-garde became the second Black girl and first African-American to win the Scripps contest.
Racism In The U.S.
Marie C. Bolden was no stranger to prejudice like any other Black child during those times. Contestants were asked to spell “prejudice” as one of their words in the contest. Bolden’s rival team from New Orleans almost didn’t compete because their leaders were unwilling to accept including a Black student. According to Nola.com, when a school board member thought of how a team might respond to the news, he responded, “Go ahead and knock the n—– out.”
According to Brown, the mistreatment of Black people in the U.S. prompted Bolden and her family to move to Canada. It began when his grandfather told his father to fight for Canada instead of the U.S. in WW2 “because they didn’t treat colored soldiers very well,” Brown said.
Bolden died in 1981 and now, Brown lives just outside of Hamilton, Ontario. The family recognizes Bolden for the mark she left on history and her strength.