Anne Feeney, the influential folk musician and labor activist whose “Have You Been to Jail for Justice” served as a national anthem for activists worldwide, died Wednesday at Covid-19. She was 69.
Her daughter, Amy Sue Berlin, confirmed the news Wednesday night. “It is with a very heavy heart that we must announce the passing of our brave, brilliant, beautiful mother, Anne Feeney,” Berlin wrote on Facebook. “We were very happy that she fought hard enough to open her eyes, and gave us a few days to be with her before she finally decided it was time to let go.”
Feeney has been a regular on the national stage, performing more than 4,000 shows across the US and Europe. Many of her performances included sets in holiday halls, for striking workers and gatherings. In 2004 she played for Women’s Lives in Washington, DC in March and her performance in 1999 during the World Trade Organization’s demonstrations in Seattle can be seen in the documentary, This is what democracy looks like.
Feeney has released 12 albums and has regularly collaborated with Pete Seeger, John Prine and Peter, Paul and Mary. Her ‘Were You in Jail for Justice’, which is often sung during demonstrations, was covered by Peter, Paul and Mary.
“Anne Feeney was a deeply committed songwriter / activist in the great tradition of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie,” Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary said in a statement. “She was cheerful and fiery in her determination to use her music to elevate those who were most marginalized and move toward greater justice in the country. For Annie, it was a way of life. Her song ‘Have You Been to Jail for Justice’, which our trio recorded, was a folk song for all of us who were ‘in the good fight’ with Annie. ”
Her dedicated activism began in her youth. She was inspired by her grandfather, William Patrick Feeney, a first-generation Irish immigrant, an organizer of miners and violinists. In 1969, while still a teenager, she performed in public for the first time and sang a Phil Ochs song during a protest against the Vietnam War.
She studied at the University of Pittsburg’s School of Law in 1978 and practiced for 12 years as a trial lawyer, mainly as refugees and survivors of domestic violence. Feeney was president of the Pittsburgh Musician’s Union from 1981 to 1997, the first and only woman to hold the post. She served on the executive board of the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), and she was also an active member of the American Federation of Musicians and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).
“The great folk musician Anne Feeney was a fearless and formidable force for justice and workers’ rights on stage, in the studio and on the picket line,” Tom Morello said in a statement. “Through her art and through her example, our IWW comrade will continue to be a beacon of hope and solidarity for future generations.”