>>> KENNEDY MITCHUM IS 22 YEARS
OLD.
SHE JUST GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE.
SHE GREW UP RIGHT OUTSIDE
FERGUSON, MISSOURI, AN IMPORTANT
HUB IN THIS COUNTRY IN THE FIGHT
FOR RACIAL JUSTICE.
IN HER ACTIVISM, IN HER
DISCUSSIONS ABOUT RACE IN
AMERICA WITH HER PEERS, SHE KEPT
HITTING UP AGAINST THE SAME
ROADBLOCK.
IT WASN’T JUST THAT PEOPLE WERE
CLOSE-MINDED OR WOULDN’T LISTEN
WHEN SHE WANTED TO TALK ABOUT
RACISM, IT WAS THE LITERAL
DEFINITION OF RACISM.
THIS IS HOW MERRIAM WEBSTER
DEFINES IT.
A BELIEF, A DOCTRINE OR
PREJUDICE BASED ON THE IDEA THAT
RACE IS THE PRIMARY DETERMINANT
OF HUMAN TRAITS OR CAPACITIES
AND RACIAL DIFFERENCES PRODUCE
AN INHERENT SUPERIORITY OF A
PARTICULAR RACE.
IT DOESN’T TAKE A RACIST BELIEF
OR DOCTRINE OR PREJUDICE FOR
RACISM TO EXIST.
RACISM IN AMERICA IS SYSTEMIC.
IT’S BUILT IN, REGARDLESS OF
WHAT MANY PEOPLE ACTUALLY
BELIEVE.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE ACTIVELY
RACIST TO BENEFIT FROM A RACIST
SYSTEM IN THE SAME WAY THAT YOU
DON’T NEED TO RUN ON A TRAIN IN
ORDER TO BE IN MOTION.
BUT THAT IS THE DEFINITION THAT
SOME WHITE PEOPLE WOULD SHOW
KENNEDY MITCHUM IN ARGUMENTS
ABOUT RACE TO PROVE TO HER THAT
THEIR ACTIONS WERE NOT RACIST.
SO KENNEDY MITCHUM SET OUT TO
CHANGE THE DEFINITION OF RACISM.
LATE LAST MONTH SHE EMAILED THE
EDITORS AT MERRIAM WEBSTER AND
ASKED THEM TO UPDATE THE
DEFINITION TO REPRESENT THE TRUE
MEANING OF WHAT RACISM IS.
KENNEDY MITCHUM GOT A RESPONSE
FROM THE EDITORS THE NEXT DAY.
THIS IS WHAT THEY TOLD HER.
WE HAVE CONCLUDED THAT OMITTING
ANY MENTION OF THE SYSTEMIC
ASPECTS OF RACISM DOES A
DISSERVICE TO READERS OF ALL
RACES BECAUSE PEOPLE OFTEN TURN
TO THE DICTIONARY TO GAIN
NUANCED VIEW OF THE WAY A WORD
IS BEING USED IN A PARTICULAR
CONTEXT
CONTEXT, IGNORING THIS MEANING
OF THE WORD MAY LEAVE OUR
READERS CONFUSED OR MISLED.
A REVISION TO THE ENTRY FOR
RACISM IS NOW BEING DRAFTED TO
BE ADDED TO THE DICTIONARY SOON,
AND WE ARE ALSO PLANNING TO
REVISE THE ENTRIES OF OTHER
WORDS THAT ARE RELATED TO RACISM
OR HAVE RACIAL CONNOTATIONS.
THE EDITORS WENT ON TO SAY THAT
WITHOUT KENNEDY’S PERSISTENCE,
THESE REVISIONS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN MADE.
BEEN MADE.
JOINING US NOW, KENNEDY, WHO GOT
MERRIAM-WEBSTER TO CHANGE THEIR
DEFINITION OF RACISM.
22 YEARS OLD AND YOU ARE ALREADY
IN THE HISTORY BOOKS.
YOU HAVE ALREADY MADE A
SIGNIFICANT CHANGE, AND THIS ONE
IS IMPORTANT.
TELL ME IN YOUR OWN WORDS WHAT
YOU BELIEVE RACISM SHOULD BE
DEFINED AS.
>> RACISM IS BUILT IN IN OUR
SOCIETY.
IT SHOULD BE DEFINED AS NOT ONLY
PREJUDICE BUT AS WELL AS
SYSTEMIC OPPRESSION ON A GROUP
OF PEOPLE.
THAT’S WHAT IT SHOULD BE DEFINED
AS.
I THINK THAT ONCE THAT CHANGE IS
MADE THAT WE ALL CAN COME TO A
BETTER UNDERSTANDING AND SEE ITS
ROLE IN SOCIETY AS IT IS NOW.
>> SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT RACISM
OR LET’S SAY WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
SOMETHING MORE SPECIFIC THAN
LIKE REPAR RATIONS, ONE OF THE
THINGS PEOPLE SAY IS I DIDN’T
ENSLAVE ANYBODY, WHY DO I HAVE
TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS?
RACISM IS SIMILAR.
THERE ARE FOLKS THAT SAY BECAUSE
I DON’T DO SOMETHING THAT SEEMS
ACTIVELY RACIST IN THE DAY, I
DON’T SUBSCRIBE TO IT.
IN YOUR E-MAILS, YOU WERE VERY
CAREFUL TO DISTINGUISH
INDIVIDUAL RACISM AND SYSTEMIC
RACISM.
WHY DO YOU THINK PEOPLE DON’T
GET THE DIFFERENCE?
>> I THINK THEY DON’T WANT TO
GET THE DIFFERENCE.
I THINK THEY JUST WANT TO BE
IGNORANT, AND I UNDERSTAND
IGNORANCE.
IGNORANCE IS BLISZ BLISS, BUT IT
REALITY.
IF YOU REALLY CARE, THEN YOU
SHOULD TRY TO WANT TO UNDERSTAND
WHERE WE’RE COMING FROM WHEN WE
SAY RACISM IS SYSTEMIC.
RACISM IS DEEPLY ROOTED IN A LOT
OF THINGS AND RACISM IS KILLING
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE ARE DYING.
THAT’S WHY I THINK THAT I TOOK
OUT TO REALLY TRY THIS TIME,
EVEN THOUGH I WAS UP AGAINST,
YOU KNOW, MERRIAM-WEBSTER, WHICH
IS A VERY WELL-KNOWN, VERY
PROMINENT DICTIONARY.
THERE IS NO TIME TO BE IGNORANT.
WE HAVE TO ALL BE ON THE SAME
PAGE.
WE’RE NEVER GOING TO MOVE
FORWARD AND THERE IS GOING TO BE
ANOTHER BLACK MAN AFTER ANOTHER
BLACK MAN DYING IF WE ALL DON’T
UNDERSTAND THAT THE SYSTEMS THAT
ARE IN PLACE THAT ARE HARMING
INDIVIDUALS.
>> WHAT DID YOU EXPECT TO HAPPEN
WHEN YOU SENT MERRIAM-WEBSTER AN
E-MAIL.
>> I DID NOT EXPECT ANYTHING.
I JUST THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO
GET, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A LITTLE
SPAM REPLY TO MY E-MAIL.
IT WAS A REALLY PLEASANT
SURPRISE THAT THEY DID E-MAIL ME
BACK AND SO FAST.
AND ESPECIALLY SINCE THROUGHOUT
THE WHOLE CONVERSATION THEY WERE
REALLY STERN WITH, YOU KNOW, THE
WAY THAT THEY OPERATED.
THEY KEPT SAYING THAT SOMEONE
REACHING OUT TO THEM WOULD NOT,
YOU KNOW, MAKE ANY TYPE OF
CHANGES, SO I REALLY HAD NO HOPE
AT ALL.
>> I IMAGINE -- I MEAN, I HOPE
WHEN THEY FIRST PUBLISHED THIS
EITHER THEY WILL SEND YOU ONE OR
YOU ARE GOING TO BUY IT.
I MEAN, THIS IS A BIG DEAL.
IT IS A SMALL MATTER, BUT IT IS
ACTUALLY A BIG DEAL BECAUSE WHAT
WE LOOK UP -- I DO THE SAME
THING.
YOU LOOK SOMETHING UP IN A
DICTIONARY AND YOU PROVE TO
SOMEONE YOU’RE WRONG ABOUT IT.
THAT’S WHAT WE USE.
>> YES, EXACTLY.
AND THAT’S -- THAT’S WHAT’S SO
IMPORTANT.
LIKE THERE IS NO -- WE HAVE TO
UNDERSTAND THAT WHETHER -- WE
ALL COME FROM DIFFERENT
BACKGROUNDS.
WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT
EXPERIENCES, SO WHY ARE YOU NOT
TRYING TO UNDERSTAND ME?
WHY ARE YOU JUST POINTING TO A
DICTIONARY?
WE HAVE LIFE EXPERIENCE.
THIS ISN’T JUST, OH, YOU CAN GO
TO THE DICTIONARY AND YOU ARE
GOING TO UNDERSTAND RACISM.
I HOPE THAT AFTER THEY LOOK AT
THE NEW DEFINITION THEY CAN AT
LEAST TRY TO UNDERSTAND INSTEAD
OF, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO BE
IGNORANT BECAUSE I THINK THAT’S
WHAT REALLY TRY TO UNDERSTAND
AND BECOME ALLIES, THAT’S WHAT
REALLY WILL PUSH US FORWARD.
>> I THINK IT’S AMAZING WHAT YOU
SAID A FEW MOMENTS AGO.
YOU SAID THERE IS NO TIME TO BE
IGNORANT, AND I THINK THAT’S
EXACTLY RIGHT.
THERE IS NO TIME TO BE IGNORANT.
KENNEDY
KENNEDY, WE ARE INDEBTED TO YOU
AND FOR YEARS I WILL SAY WHAT
HAPPENED IN 2020 AND I WILL
APPEND IT BY SAYING, AND THEY