Black Woman Asks US Dictionary, Merriam-Webster To Change Their Definition Of ‘Racism’ & This Is Their Response

US dictionary, Merriam-Webster is set to make changes to its meaning of Racism thanks to a black woman.

Kennedy Mitchum, a recent graduate of Drake University in Iowa, suggested that the definition should include a reference to systemic oppression.

Mitchum had emailed Merriam-Webster on May 28 to point out that racism is “both prejudice combined with social and institutional power. It is a system of advantage based on skin colour”.

An editor then responded the next day, later agreeing to update their definition.

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Merriam-Webster said the “issue needed to be addressed sooner rather than later” and that a revision would be made.

Mitchum had encountered people pointing to the dictionary to prove that they were not racist because of the way they felt towards people of colour.

She felt the definition needed to reflect broader issues of racial inequality in society.

The decision comes amid international anti-racism protests after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Here is Merriam-Webster’s current definition of racism

1. 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
2. a) a doctrine or political program based on the assumption of racism and designed to execute its principles, b) a political or social system founded on racism
3. racial prejudice or discrimination