Tom Morello recently announced the passing of his mother, Mary Morello, at the age of 102.
The Rage Against The Machine guitarist shared news of her passing on social media Sunday night (July 12),writing: “Mary Morello is forever with the Rebels of Light & Song. (1923-2026).”
The 62-year-old Tom took to Instagram to share photos of Mary, including one of him holding her hand.
Last month, Tom called off his appearances at several European music festivals, including Tons Of Rock in Norway and the BBK Music Legends in Spain, in order to look after his ailing mother.
Mary Morello was an educator, humanitarian and lifelong activist who spent nearly a century standing on the front lines of the civil rights movement and advocating for racial equality, peace, education, and human dignity. Her work saw her fiercely oppose Jim Crow laws, aid anti-colonial movements in Africa, support the United Farm Workers and Urban League, as well as speak out against apartheid and the Persian Gulf War.
System of A Down’s Serj Tankian paid tribute to Mary Morello, writing, “We will all miss Mary dearly. She was an inspiration.”
Metallica commented: “Much love to you and your family, Tom.” Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx also shared his condolences, writing: “So sorry for your loss. What a warrior.”
During a December 2024 appearance on “Whiplash”, the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie, Morello spoke about his passion for fusing music with his profound sense of social justice.
He said: “I was an activist before I was a guitar player. I didn’t start playing guitar until I was 17, and I was already getting in trouble for my student activism at 16. Really, my political education did not begin with any books. It began with being the only black kid in an all-white town and some of the racial injustice I felt on the playground from a very, very early age. But also my mom, Mary Morello, we have very different politics…
“I grew up in a very conservative, homogenous conservative suburb in northern Illinois, and the politics in my home were very different from the politics in the community. It really helped me sort of get a juxtaposition. My mom had lived in many places around the world, and as a single mom, public high school teacher, we had very humble means, but from her kind of coal-mining ancestors in Illinois to the African liberation struggles she had seen and been a part of on the African continent, it was a very different set of like rules and regulations in my house. And I’ve always thought that standing up for the poor, standing up for the oppressed — also from my Catholic upbringing, too, there was also a strong liberation theology elements of always standing up for those that are most in need has always kind of been a part of my DNA and I’ve tried to work it into my vocation… I didn’t choose to be a guitar player; that chose me. So I was stuck with that. I had to find a way to weave my convictions into my vocation.”
