Day continues to be something of an enigma to many. One of the widespread legends about Day is that she was a Communist, a bit of “history” that simply isn’t true. Around the time of her conversion, she worked for the Anti-Imperialist League, which was a Communist front organization. According to Cornell, Day felt a lot of unease about this and talked to her confessor about it.
“He told her, ‘You have a daughter to support—until you can find something else, keep working there,’” he said.
According to Cornell, when Day wrote later in life that she was an ex-Communist, she was referring to her time working for the Anti-Imperialist League.
And her attitude towards the welfare state:
Another misconception about Day involves her relationship to government in general. Contrary to Internet combox lore, she and Peter Maurin were no devotees of the state or state-sponsored welfare.
