(A-P/KCCI) Merriam-Webster is revising its definition of racism after a Missouri woman’s emails claimed it fell short of including the systemic oppression of certain groups of people. KMOV-TV reports that Kennedy Mitchum, a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, says people would argue with her about the definition of racism and she realized the problem was in the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary. Mitchum said the definition of racism should say it is a system designed, especially in America, to oppress black and brown people.

Peter Sokolowski, editor at large at Merriam-Webster, says the definition also covers the sense that Mitchum was seeking, and they will make its wording even more clear in the next release. He says this is the kind of continuous revision that is part of keeping the dictionary up to date. Drake University shared the dictionary’s response in a tweet. The statement said, in part, “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.”

Merriam-Webster went on to say, “This revision would not have been made without your persistence in contacting us about this problem.”