Alice Walker is one of the most renowned — and complex — public figures of her generation.

Born to sharecroppers in rural Georgia and raised in homes without electricity or indoor plumbing, Walker became an activist and a prolific writer, with 41 books across genres. Her 1982 book, “The Color Purple” — an epistolary novel addressed largely to God, which focused on the experience of poor Black women in the American South — was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. She was the first Black woman to win the prize for fiction.

In recent years, she has taken positions, including in The Times, that many have found to be antisemitic and deeply troubling. Her stances have cast a shadow over her legacy, leaving readers to grapple with how to approach Walker, and her work, today.

Carla Kaplan, a professor of American literature at Northeastern University who has written about Walker’s work, said she is one of many influential progressive figures who have made profoundly contentious statements.

“The question becomes, what do we do with one another when these moments happen,” Kaplan said. “One answer is that we cancel one another. Another is that we hold one another to account.”

Alice Walker Has ‘No Regrets’ – The New York Times (nytimes.com)