Journalist-turned-novelist Bebe Moore Campbell, who was diagnosed (PDF) with a neurological condition earlier this year, died peacefully at home at 12:15 a.m. Pacific time Monday, her publicist, Linda Wharton Boyd, told Journal-isms. She was 56.
Campbell had written for the New York Times Magazine, the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Essence, Ebony and Black Enterprise and once was a regular commentator for National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition.” Her novels include “Brothers and Sisters,” “Singing in the Comeback Choir” and “Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine.”
“My wife was a phenomenal woman who did it her way,” her husband, Ellis Gordon Jr., said in a statement. “She loved her family and her career as a writer. We enjoyed life together as a team and we will miss her immensely and will love her forever.”
Born February 1950 in Philadelphia, Penn., Campbell received a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in elementary education from the University of Pittsburgh. She is survived by her husband, her son and daughter, actress Maia Campbell (“In the House”).
[SOURCE]
Sad… My condolences
WOW…I loved this woman’s work, she was a wonderful writer. I have read many of her books and read many more articles. I pray for her family that they find peace during their grieving.
Awww….I didn’t even know she was ill! I enjoyed her work as well. Too sad…
Rest in Peace BeBe Moore Campbell
to the Moore Family: ” there is no hurt on earth that HEAVEN cannot heal”
Wow. Very sad news. Rest in peace lady.
It’s so sad when people so young pass. And yes, 56 is young…
I am sorry to hear this. God bless her family.
May her soul rest in peace and may God be with her family. She was an excellent writer. Thanks for posting.
Damn I’m sad to hear that…her novels were great. All these great black people are passing…damn man.
Wow, she was Maia Campbell’s mom???
Rest in Peace
Soror Campbell, will be truly miss and may her soul rest in peace, and God keep a ever watching hand over her family. I am glad that she was able to contribute some much to the literary world and beyond, and further more that she is my Soror.
Skee-Wee!
May the Almighty bless her family.
#9
Is that Maia Campbell who played Tiffany in the one show with Debbie Allen and LL Cool J.
I can’t remember the name of the show.
I always thought she was pretty.
I think she would be a good shoe in for the role of Winter in ‘The Coldest Winter Ever’. If that ever comes to the big screen.
Great Black Author. She will certainly be missed!
How sad. May she rest in peace.
How sad…she left a legacy though. Everyone I talk to has nothing but praises for her books’ content, characters, and the overall texts.
#9 She is Maia’s mom…damn I forgot about that. Did Maia ever make peace with her mom? Weren’t they not on speaking terms for a minute?
I’m not trying to start nothing…just asking a question.
Dont know her work. But may she rest in peace.
In the House was the name of the show with LL and Maia.
I NEVER KNEW MAIA WAS HER DAUGHTER!! WOW THIS IS SOOO SAD WHAT A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN…
RIP
My condolences to her family and friends.This is like the 3rd death in such a small time frame.
#18
Thanks.
I knew it was at somebody’s house.
I didn’t know whether it was in the, out of the, or full.
Wow. This is too much. My heart and prayers go out to her family and loved ones. May she rest in peace. I remember reading her Brothers and Sisters way back in Junior High. She was a great writer. She will be missed. Lord, we are losing some really good people.
Rest in Peace Soror!!
A wonderful woman…beautiful writer!! Her gift was undeniable!!
Wow that is so sad and she was young too. May God bless her family during this time.
May God grant this sister eternal peace. She was an excellant writer who shall be missed by all the people who her books have touched. The first novel of hers I ever read was Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine and I was hooked from then on.
OMG, may she rest in peace. I’m really sorry to hear this.
My prayers go out to her family. I truly respected her as a writer. I have read nearly all of her books and truly enjoyed them. She will be missed.
WOW I loved her book 72 hour hold, singing in the comeback choir and your blues ain’t like my blues. She was an great writer. I am completely shocked I never knew Maia Campbell was her daughter.
My prayers go out to her family she was such a lovely woman!
Bebe Moore Campbell was one of my favorite authors. I have read all of her books and had the opportunity to meet her last summer at a book signing for 72 Hour Hold. I will cherish sharing a small moment of time with her. Let me just tell you all that if you haven’t read Your Blues Aint Like Mine, please do so. She will truly be missed in the literary world.
PEACE.
my god… rest in peace
Sending my condolences to her daughter and the Family.
RIP
She was a great writer. I remember reading Brothers and Sisters in High School and from then on I was a true fan. And Many people don’t know this but she wrote 72 hour hold after dealing with her own issues with Maia being bipolar. I was glad that her and her daughter were able to come together as a family again before she passed. May God bless her soul.
I can’t say she’s my favorite writer, but she has influenced me in so many ways. I went to a school where I was one of only two blacks in my class. The first books I remember reading from black women were the “Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison and “Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine” by Bebe Moore Campbell. It opened up a whole new genre of writing to me, and she will be truly missed.
May she rest in peace and may god bless her family with strength to deal with her death.
Wow…!! I cant believe I am reading this…..!! When I was comin’ up reading was a M-U-S-T!! My mother came from an educator’s background, so I was always reading, reading, reading. If there was any chore undone, the answer was GO READ. If I wasnt doing well in school, then…yep! you guessed it…GO READ! (ha ha) My mom was something else. But nevertheless, in all of that GO READ mentality, she helped me to broaden my mind, and my vocabulary early on. And because of her tenacity, I knew of authors such as Bebe Moore Campbell, James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and many others and a young and vibrant age.
Now do I read now as I did then?? Ha! I’ll never tell it…..but one thing’s for certain, each time I open a book, first thing I say is, “This is for you mom.”
Peace
this is sooo sad…
She was great, inspirational, and uplifting writer. Wow! She was young.
very sad, very talented writer, R.I.P!
Ayo said:
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She was a great writer. I remember reading Brothers and Sisters in High School and from then on I was a true fan. And Many people don’t know this but she wrote 72 hour hold after dealing with her own issues with Maia being bipolar. I was glad that her and her daughter were able to come together as a family again before she passed. May God bless her soul.
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Hey Ayo I knew that the book was based on a true story but I was wondering about that. Now that I know who her daughter is I was wondering if that was who 72 hour hold was a similarity too. I wonder I hope they made amends before bebe passed.
oops sorry i see that they did from you post that I copied and pasted. lol *hits forehead* duh.
So sad to hear this. I do hope her and hear daughter mended things before she passed. Life is too short for the petty shit. Which reminds me…there are a few people I need to call and have a nice lunch and talk with. I should practice what I preach…
Mrs. Campbell was a genuine author that wrote of the struggles of African-Americans, the racisim that affects us all, along with many other issues that specifically relate to the African American community. She gave a lot of her time and money to community service and the church (First AME). I will keep Ellis and Maia in my prayers. We have suffered the loss of an amazing talent and I am only thankful that her gift is memorialized in such great bodies of work.
Rest In Peace Soror!
Yes rest in peace. I remember when my sister was reading her books which was when she first came out and that is when I found out the Maia was her daughter, I think they had did a photo shoot together and I was saying how pretty they both were. The month of November has not been good it has been about six or seven in a row. Ed Bradley was the first this month. My condolences to all.
Wow I cant believe this. I went to school with Maia and I just cant believe this. I read most of her moms books. My favorite being “Your Blues Aint Like mine” which I read in highschool! Wow I know for a while she and her mom had problems and I believe her mom addressed it in a book. Wow this really is something that has hit a little close to home. It really makes you think when people you grow up with’s parents start to pass. I thank God everyday my parents are still here.
RIP…..MAY GOD BLESS HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS IN THEIR TIME OF NEED
Damn, I hate to hear/read that she was a very successful author. My prayers go out to her family.
This truly saddens me.
I picked up “Brothers and Sisters” a few years back and read it in two days. It was so good! She was such a gifted writer!
Sad to hear it.
Did’nt she write your blues aint like mines??? very good book..Sad to hear that.
RIP
My deepest condolences go out to her and her family. I have read many of her books and started to read 72 Hour Hold, just havent finished it yet. May her soul rest in peace. Death is very hard to deal with sometimes so I pray her family is seeking strength through this time.
Rest in Peace. I want to say that I empathize with her children because I have lost my mother and I know that after they are gone you miss every day that you didn’t see eye to eye, you just want them to come back and my mom died of lung cancer so I know that cancer in general is a SLOW PAINFUL death, really I will pray for them.
This lady looks familiar? Did she ever make an appearance on ‘Girlfriends’? The episode was about Joan and some co-workers getting together to discuss a book. I believe Ms. Cambell was one of the ladies?
RIP
Rest in peace.
MY HEART GOES OUT TO HER FAMILY !!!
Man this is sad. i loved all her books. Her daughter was an actress on The LL Cool J show you all mentioned. She was also on a sitcom called South Central and had a few cameos in movies. Her mother Bebe Moore was a great author. I will put Maia and Ellis and all her family in my prayers. Cancer is a slow painful death but it seems Bebe was diagnosed only in February so that is tough.
My condolences. She was a great novelist. I loved her books.
Damn! My mother and I both loved her stuff, This is just another sign that this generation needs to step it’s game up, the older people who created change are dying!
-B