African-American Community Still Struggles to Define What is ‘Black Enough’

Tom Fudge:  Today is the birthday of the late writer James Baldwin. The noted African American wrote essays, novels and poetry. Most Americans knew him as a member of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. He wrote a famous essay, which became a book, called The Fire Next Time . Baldwin's comments on the black movement and black identity have inspired one of today's writers to tackle the subject.

In fact, Randall Kenan's book is called The Fire This Time . In addition to writing that book, Kenan wrote a biography of James Baldwin.

Guest

• Randall Kenan, professor of English at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He has written a biography of James Baldwin and his new book of essays is called The Fire This Time .