Merriam-Webster agrees to update definition of ‘racism’ after email from reader

Merriam-Webster has agreed to update its definition of “racism” after a reader emailed editors requesting the entry be expanded to address its systemic aspects.

Kennedy Mitchum, 22, of Florissant, Mo. a recent graduate of Drake University, told St. Louis TV station KMOV4 that she would get into arguments with people who pointed to the definition of racism to support their position.

“So, a couple weeks ago, I said this is the last argument I’m going to have about this. I know what racism is, I’ve experienced it time and time and time again in a lot of different ways, so enough is enough,” she told the news outlet. “So, I emailed them about how I felt about it, saying this needs to change.”

Merriam-Webster’s currently defines racism as “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.”

“I basically told them they need to include that there is systematic oppression on people. It’s not just ‘I don’t like someone,’ it’s a system of oppression for a certain group of people,” Mitchum added.

Alex Chambers, the editor of Merriam-Webster, said a revised entry for the word is in the process of being drafted, KMOV4 reported. There is no timeline for the update, but it should be expected in the coming months, he said.

“This revision would not have been made without your persistence in contacting us about this problem,” Chambers reportedly said in an email to Mitchum. “We sincerely thank you for repeatedly writing in and apologize for the harm and offense we have caused in failing to address the issue sooner. I will see to it that the entry for racism is given the attention it sorely needs.”

Peter Sokolowski, an editor at large at Merriam-Webster, said in a statement that the second definition of racism “express, first, explicit institutional bias against people because of their race, and, second, a broader implicit bias that can also result in an asymmetrical power structure.”

“This second definition covers the sense that Ms. Mitchum was seeking, and we will make that even more clear in our next release,” Sokolowski said. “This is the kind of continuous revision that is part of the work of keeping the dictionary up to date, based on rigorous criteria and research we employ in order to describe the language as it is actually used.”

He added that the April release of words included a new definition for “systemic” that “includes its use in the terms systemic poverty and systemic racism.”

The agreement to revise the definition comes as the country has erupted into protests over the death of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody last month.