Conversation so far:
Who was Nat Turner?
Nat Turner was an enslaved African-American preacher who led a four-day rebellion of both enslaved and free black people in Southampton County, Virginia, beginning August 21, 1831.
What was the controversy caused by William Styron over Nat Turner?
Despite public defenses of William Styron by leading artists of the time, including James Baldwin and Ralph Ellison, numerous other black critics reviled Styron's portrayal of Turner as racist stereotyping.

Question: Was William Styron racist?
Self-contained rewrite: Was William Styron racist?