WS Chronicle

By David Winship

LEAD Girls of North Carolina kicked off their 6th annual Rising EXPO, themed “Change Makers in the Making,” on Thursday, Oct. 24, at Parkland High School. A community conversation with Zaila Avant-garde, 18-year old author and sports figure, and Joy Nelson-Thomas, LEAD founder and executive director, was moderated by Kara Peters, WXII weekend anchor..  

Avant-garde first gained recognition as the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion, the first African American to win in the competition’s 100-year history. She holds two Guinness World Records for her prowess with basketball handling and was the 2021 Sports Illustrated Sports Kid of the Year.

Her latest book, “It’s Not Bragging If It’s True: How to Be Awesome at Life,” published in 2023, is a New York Times bestseller and is an empowering collection of true stories from Zaila’s life. She aims to inspire young children to embrace their unique attributes and qualities and to persevere through life’s challenges. Avant-garde emphasized the importance of development of one’s own character, with anecdotes from her experiences, as she conversed on stage with Nelson-Thomas and Peters.

While Avant-garde shared the power of confidence and believing in oneself, Nelson-Thomas emphasized the importance of having a supportive community behind young people for them to succeed. She stressed that young people need a culturally-affirmative environment in which to grow and bloom. Avant-garde shared the importance of challenging norms in society. She encouraged youth to discount the naysayers and made a point to those on stage and in the audience that adults often do not understand the impact that casual comments and “give-away words” can have on the young, growing mind. 

Nelson-Thomas emphasized that in decisions being made throughout society, “women need to be at the table.” Encouraging “constructive discontentment,” she encouraged disruption of the system now in place. Peters and Nelson-Thomas both commented on the importance of developing inner self-worth and for adults to show their belief and support of young people. 

Recognizing that failure happens, Avant-garde shared how she was able to pick herself up and continue. “Don’t allow rejection make you lose confidence in who you are as a person.” Responding to a question of how she gets herself out of a funk, she spoke of the importance of remembering who you are and having confidence in what you have done.

All three addressed accessing “Zen zones” and ”safe spaces.”  People need to find places where they can relax. There also need to be places where people can discuss the “heavy issues” facing people of all ages. Reflecting on the theme of “Changemakers in the Making,” LEAD means empowerment. Avant-garde, who is acknowledged as a changemaker, shared that small actions, such as a smile, can be a changemaker. Individually, self-reflection can change one’s experience in life.

Avant-garde answered audience questions ranging from dealing with anxiety to dealing with boys. Happiness for her comes with waking up, looking forward to the day, and what can be done. To relax – and she does relax – she likes listening to history podcasts and reading, including true-life mysteries.

Zaila Avant-garde’s mother was in the audience and added to the discussion, commenting that parents need to lean into what interests the child and what the child wants and not necessarily what the parents want for the child.

Nelson-Thomas spoke to the important role of parents in LEAD, who are involved in and lead sessions. The matter of social media, as influences and excess engagement, was discussed. Avant-garde spoke of the numerous times she would have to do her basketball juggling in order to make a single social media post. “Remember: Social media is fake. It is not reality.” 

Ahead in the life of Zalia Avant-garde, who graduates home-schooled high school this year, may be Columbia University, along with two additional books due to be published in 2025.

In a final audience question, Zalia Avant-garde addressed, “How do you deal with boys?” Recognizing that boys have often learned to dismiss the capabilities and qualities of girls, her advice is simple: “Ignore them!”

David Winship is a retired elementary school educator who lives in Bristol, Tennessee, and is a frequent visitor to Winston-Salem. He is a member of Winston-Salem Writers.