Author: James Stancil

In front of a capacity crowd and local television cameras, the African-American National Spelling Bee Championships (AANSBC) were held on Saturday, February 27, 2016 in Heinen Theatre at Houston Community College, Central Campus. This is the 6th year of the event, which is held annually in the Houston area.

The AANSBC began as a non-profit organization in 2010, with a mission to “train students in grades 6-8 in decoding and spelling techniques to enable them to expand their literacy skills and knowledge, improve language development and increase reading and writing levels.” The AANSBC is not affiliated with other regional or national spelling bees, and draws its participants from middle school students in the Greater Houston area.