In early June, Merriam-Webster announced its intention to update its entry on “racism.” The change was prompted by Kennedy Mitchum, a young woman frustrated that dictionaries usually don’t include a definition representative of the way “racism” is now used in certain circles, mostly academic and left-leaning, to name systems which produce disparities along racial lines – so-called “systemic racism.” Merriam-Webster's current entry on “racism” (as of August 7, 2020) gives three, related definitions: