As of the publishing of this research guide, the most recent and important conversation about Flannery O'Connor's legacy is in regards to racism. An article published in The New Yorker titled "How Racist Was Flannery O'Connor?" by Paul Elie in June of 2020 made waves on the internet. This article resulted in a multitude of different responses, the most drastic being that a Jesuit university, Loyola University Maryland, changed the name of their "Flannery O'Connor Hall." This decision incited a lot of responses. The most important responses come from Alice Walker, Black writer known for her book The Color Purple, and Angela Alaimo O'Donnell, the author of Radical Ambivalence: Race in Flannery O'Connor. Below, included the article in question, news articles covering the controversy, responses to the controversy, and more.
The Flannery O'Connor Review is a literary publication produced Georgia College. It is published once a year, and it provides great insight onto the current world discussions on Flannery O'Connor. The website linked below provides more information on subscription, submission, awards and fellowships, and their most recent publication.
Another recent interpretation of O'Connor comes from Alice Walker, the author of The Color Purple. Walker references O'Connor in multiple essays, as they are both writers from the South and, coincidentally, were neighbors for a short while. In her essays, Walker confronts her relationship with O'Connor and her work, tackling topics of race, entitlement, writing, the South, and more. I have also included some responses to Walkers essays and words on O'Connor in the links below. Walker's responses to the recent O'Connor controversies surrounding race can be found in the box titled "Flannery O'Connor and Racism."
In Search of Our Mother's Gardens by