Tom Morello launches Mary Morello Memorial Project to honor activist mother

Mary Morello, mother of Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, died at age 102 on July 12. In the week after her death, Tom Morello and his family announced the Mary Morello Memorial Project, a fundraiser and action campaign that invites the public to volunteer, protest, create activist art or music, and otherwise "do as Mary did" until October 1, the date that would have been her 103rd birthday.

The project will distribute donations to a list of organizations Mary supported, including the UFW Foundation, Médecins Sans Frontières, The Midnight Mission, Jail Guitar Doors USA, Orphans of the Storm, All Chicago, Corazón con Cuba, the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, and the Center for Native American Youth. Participants are encouraged to share their actions on Instagram using the project’s tag, turning the memorial into a month‑long call for community service and social justice.

The initiative builds on Mary Morello’s own activism, notably her founding of Parents For Rock and Rap in the late 1980s to oppose music censorship and her lifelong work for peace, equality and justice.