Author Bebe Moore Campbell Dies at 56 (Your Blues Ain't Like Mine)

[chimpymustgo]

Remembrances
Author Bebe Moore Campbell Dies at 56

Barbara DuMetz
Bebe Moore Campbell was the author of several best-selling books that explored issues of race from several vantage points, including Brothers and Sisters, Singing in the Comeback Choir and Your Blues Ain't Like Mine.


All Things Considered, November 27, 2006 · Author Bebe Moore Campbell died of complications from brain cancer at her home in Los Angeles on Monday. She was 56.

In addition to being an author, Campbell was an NPR commentator and an advocate for the mentally ill.

"Stigma is one of the main reasons why people with mental health problems don't seek treatment or take their medication," Campbell said. "People of color, particularly African Americans, feel the stigma more keenly. In a race-conscious society, some don't want to be perceived as having yet another deficit."

Campbell is survived by her mother, husband, daughter and two grandchildren.

Michele Norris talks with Marita Golden, a friend of the author's and a fellow novelist, about how Campbell's journalism background and coming of age in the 1960s shaped her work.

Bebe Moore Campbell: The Stigma of Mental Illness

Bebe Moore Campbell, who died Monday at age 56, was outspoken on behalf of people she saw as short-changed by life -- battered spouses, bullied children and people with mental illness. In a November 2005 Morning Edition commentary, the author discussed the mental illness of a close relative.

A few years ago, a member of my family began to speak and behave in a bizarre manner. He stayed awake for days, talked non-stop and spent money recklessly. I was his passenger when he drove close to 100 miles an hour on the freeway. He laughed wildly as he dodged traffic, veered in and out of lanes and ignored my pleas to slow down. He seemed oblivious to the danger. I waited for things to return to normal, but they didn't.

-snip-

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6546082

More at link, and more of her work for NPR.

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Oh, I recognize that mental illness. :^( And she passed way too young

[originalpckelly]

2. It's easy to mourn such a beautiful and creative woman,

but we should celebrate the fact that she lived, and that we were so blessed to have her. Over the years this lady has given America a good look at itself, a look in the mirror which started with race, but went through to the soul of our people.

We can never replace her, and we'll linger on in the next few days...remembering. That's the most important part.

We'll remember Bebe, we'll remember.

[chimpymustgo]

3. Lovely, opck...she will live on. eom

nt

[FrenchieCat]

4. How sad!

She will be missed. :(