Tom Morello has announced the passing of his mother, Mary Morello, at the age of 102. A former high school history teacher and lifelong activist, she also founded the anti-censorship organization Parents for Rock and Rap.
As her son proudly recounted in a 2021 essay for the New York Times, Mary’s activism quite literally spanned a century. She began by feeding unhoused people during the Great Depression and supporting organized labor, and later opposed Jim Crow laws, aided anti-colonial movements in Africa, supported the United Farm Workers and Urban League, spoke out against apartheid and Persian Gulf War, and volunteered with organizations assisting unhoused people, recovering addicts, and communities affected by conflict.
“To this day I hear from her former students. Many say she was the most important educator in their lives and pushed them to see beyond the borders of our conservative, homogeneous suburb,” Tom wrote in the Times. “She helped them learn to care and advocate for people less fortunate, people oppressed by race and class from Cabrini Green in Chicago to the migrant fields of California. She didn’t take crap from anyone, but taught with humor and acceptance, inspiring generations of students.”
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As a single mother, Mary also shared an extremely close bond with her son and instilled in him the political consciousness that would become central to his own life and music. She frequently appeared at Tom’s concerts, including famously introducing Rage Against the Machine as the “Best Band in the Fucking Universe” before their set at Pinkpop Festival in 1994. She also co-hosted the show One Man Revolution with her son on SiriusXM.
Tom shared news of his mother’s death on Sunday, July 12th, writing in an Instagram post, “Mary Morello is forever with the Rebels of Light & Song. (1923-2026).”
