The journalist and writer Morgan Campbell discusses his new memoir My Fighting Family: Borders and Bloodlines That Made Us (McClelland & Stewart, 2024), with Joseph Planta.

My Fighting Family: Borders and Bloodlines That Made Us by Morgan Campbell (McClelland & Stewart, 2024). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: My Fighting Family

Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Morgan Campbell joins me now. He’s just published a memoir, My Fighting Family: Borders and Bloodlines That Made Us. It’s a book about his family that fought a lot. It’s also about his family’s migration from the United States to Canada. It’s about race, racism, and coming-of-age as somebody who is Black. It’s also about music. It’s about family, family relations, and grudges. Two unforgettable characters in the book, Morgan’s maternal grandfather, Claude Jones, a noted pianist and jazz contemporary and friend of Oscar Peterson and George Shearing, was a legendary grudge holder, as was his paternal grandmother, Mary. She lived in Chicago, but despite the geographical distance, she cast a shadow on the family; there were resentments and betrayals. The growth of Morgan, a noted writer and award-winning journalist is throughout the book. We see that in the music he likes, and the popular culture he consumes. The way he watches television or listens to radio would be somewhat foreign to somebody coming of age today, and he lovingly chronicles that in the book. In his search for identity, Morgan also writes about the touchstones that shaped his life like sport, football in particular, as well as James Baldwin. It’s exciting to read Morgan as a young man encounter Baldwin’s writing, and what that changes in Morgan’s mind and outlook. For over eighteen years, Morgan Campbell worked at the Toronto Star establishing himself as one of Canada’s eminent sports writers. He is currently a senior contributor at CBC Sports, and a contributor to the New York Times. His noted writing has highlighted the intersections of sport with race, culture, politics, and business. This new book is published by McClelland & Stewart. We spoke this past Friday. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Morgan Campbell; Mr. Campbell, good morning.

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