2006 continues to be a very tough year for Black geniuses. Yesterday, best-selling author Bebe Moore Campbell died of complications from brain cancer.

In her groundbreaking novels, Campbell, discussed critical yet sensitive issues in the Black community, such as racism, poverty, and mental illness. Her detailed characters and complicated narratives have earned her comparisons to literary legends Edith Wharton and Anton Checkhov.

In addition to her books, Campbell’s journalism appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Ebony magazine and elsewhere.

Born Elizabeth Bebe Moore in Philadelphia, she received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Pittsburgh before she began a career as a schoolteacher. She married Tiko Campbell. The couple settled in Washington, D.C., and had a daughter, Maia Campbell, before the marriage ended in divorce. Campbell later married Ellis Gordon Jr., and they settled in Los Angeles. They had one son, Ellis Gordon III.
She was 56-years -old.
Contributions in her name can be made to the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill at NAMI Urban Los Angeles, 4305 Degnan Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008; or to the United Negro College Fund, 8260 Willow Oaks Corporate Park Drive, P.O. Box 10444, Fairfax, VA 22031.

May she forever rest in peace.