Tom Morello Shares Voting Advice From His 99-Year-Old Mom

If you've ever wondered where Tom Morello got his political prowess and activist spirit, look no farther than his mom. Mary Morello is 99 years old (!!!) and still fights tooth and nail for what she believes in. With the midterm elections being held today (November 8), the Rage Against The Machine guitarist shared some voting advice from his mom on Instagram.

"My 99 year old mom’s thoughts on voting: 'You can’t JUST vote if you really want to shake things up. You have to organize and do other things and fight all the time not just Election Day. But I always vote because the racists and fascist minded people and white supremacist people don’t want me to vote,'" he wrote alongside a photo of Mary holding up her ballot envelope and donning a sticker that says "I Voted." "'They probably don’t want you to vote either so they can just run amok. So we have to stop them every which way we can. In my heart I’m a fighter but today I’m a voter too.'”

Tom has shared fascinating stories about his mom over the years. On her 97th birthday, he highlighted some of her accomplishments:

"In the 1930s she helped feed hobos during the Great Depression and supported the coal miners struggle to organize. In the 1940s she helped raise war bonds to defeat the fascists in WWII. In the 1950s she taught international students and opposed racist Jim Crow laws and as a single woman she’s traveled to over 60 countries. In the 1960s she aided anti-colonial movements while living in Africa. In the 1970s she was a radical teacher in a conservative high school inspiring students to challenge the system, and aided the United Farm Workers and the Urban League. In the 1980s she went on nine peace missions to the Soviet Union and Cuba. In the 1990s she opposed the first Iraq War and founded an international organization to oppose music censorship called Parents For Rock and Rap. In the 2000s she helped homeless people and recovering addicts get their high school diplomas at the Salvation Army and opposed wars for oil. In the 2010s she volunteered at local soup kitchens and currently works with Doctors Without Borders and Mideast peace organizations, still feverishly writing letters to the editor, all the while being a loving grandparent."

See Tom's latest post below.