The Coronacation Diaries, Episode 84

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

Posting From Somewhere in Tennessee...Let's Talk About Life Goals 

Tom Morello's mom is 96 years old. If you know anything about Tom Morello, founding member of Rage Against the Machine, Prophets of Rage, and Audioslave, you know that he says what he means and he means what he says. And Morello clearly gets it from his mom, Mary. His "One Man Revolution" show on Lithium (SiriusXM) is my favorite thing, ever. Tom Morello gives no fucks about what you think. He plays whatever he wants, he talks about whatever he wants, and I always learn something new. Ask Michael: Tom Morello is my free pass. Today, on One Man Revolution, Tom had his mom on the show. They talked about police violence in the United States. They talked about what we have to say to our Black children. They talked about Cuba. They talked about the perpetual violence against Black bodies that is a very foundation of our country. They played some amazing, obscure music, some stuff that I knew and loved, and some stuff that I'd never heard before. It is clear that Tom Morello loves his mama. And I do, too. She is my idol.

Tom Morello's mom, a single white woman, raised him, her Black son, on her own. As someone with more street cred than me proclaimed, "Tom Morello is cool, but his mom, Mary Morello, is cooler." She has her own Wikipedia page. She has taught English in Germany, Peru, Japan, and on an international freighter. She married Tom's dad, Ngethe Njoroge, when she was living in Kenya. They moved to Harlem, and then divorced when Tom was 1. Mary then moved Tom to Libertyville, Illinois, an incredibly white town, and taught African history there for 22 years. After Tom went to Harvard, Mary quit her job to found "Parents for Rock and Rap," a response to Tipper Gore's PRMC. (Fuck the PMRC. Amirite, Gen X?) Mary then taught adult literacy at the Salvation Army, and has worked for years to lift the embargo against Cuba. Throughout her life, she's been heavily involved with the Civil Rights Movement, and with the NAACP. She's been to Russia three times. She's been to Cuba six times. She's been all over the world, constantly advocating for change.

So, when we choose to say nothing because we claim that we don't know what to say, let's take a look at fucking Mary Morello. She has traveled all over the world. She has worked in so many countries. She has taught so many students of all races and nationalities throughout the years. She has been an activist her entire life. She raised, on her own, one of the most amazing activists and voices we have today. She was --is-- a white woman, a single mom, a high school teacher. She is 96 years old and still making waves.

I want to be Mary Morello when I grow up.

No excuses.