Who's The Real Atticus Finch? The "Go Set a Watchman" Controversy

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Harper Lee's two books, "To Kill a Mockingbird," and "Go Set A Watchman" are displayed with a bouquet of tulips in the Monroe County Heritage Museum old courthouse Friday, Feb. 19, 2016, in Monroeville, Ala.

On this edition of "Two Way Street," we're asking the question—who is Atticus Finch?

He was a beloved champion of justice in “To Kill a Mockingbird” but a bigot in “Go Set a Watchman.”

That question—of who Atticus Finch is really—is now the subject of a lawsuit. Harper Lee’s estate is suing writer, Aaron Sorkin, for how he portrays Atticus Finch in his Broadway adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

It’s a question we’ve also asked ourselves. After the release of “Go Set a Watchman,” we invited Bitter Southerner editor Chuck Reece and Emory University historian Joseph Crespino to discuss what they make of this new Atticus.

This conversation originally aired on August 1st, 2015.