19 Facts About Ronnie Gilbert

Ronnie Gilbert was one of the original members of the music quartet the Weavers, as a contralto with Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, and Fred Hellerman.

Ronnie Gilbert's mother, Sarah, came from Warsaw, Poland and was a dressmaker and trade unionist, and her father, Charles Gilbert, came from Ukraine and was a factory worker.

Ronnie Gilbert performed with this group before founding the Weavers with Pete Seeger.

When she returned to New York, Ronnie Gilbert became involved in organising the Office Workers' Union and worked for the Textile Workers' Union.

Ronnie Gilbert encountered Library of Congress folklorist Alan Lomax and Woody Guthrie and other folk singers.

Ronnie Gilbert participated in the Parisian protests of 1968 after traveling to that country to work with British theatrical director Peter Brook.

Ronnie Gilbert moved to Berkeley in 1971 and began to learn and offer therapy.

Ronnie Gilbert later said that at the time, she needed a change from her career on Broadway, her daughter was grown up and she "fell into" therapy, including Gestalt, Freudian and Jungian practices.

Ronnie Gilbert found out about the dedication from her daughter and met Near soon after.

Near and Gilbert joined Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger for the 1984 quartet album HARP.

Ronnie Gilbert came out as a lesbian soon after she started dating Korones.

In 1985, Ronnie Gilbert performed with Near, Guthrie, and Seeger at the Ohio State Fair.

Ronnie Gilbert performed at the 10th Michigan Womyn's Music Festival and the first Redwood Festival with Near.

Ronnie Gilbert performed at the Vancouver Folk Festival, the National Women's Music Festival, and Sisterfire.

In 1991, Ronnie Gilbert recorded "Lincoln and Liberty" and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" for the compilation album, Songs of the Civil War.

Ronnie Gilbert continued to tour and appear in plays, folk festivals, and music festivals well into her 80s.

Ronnie Gilbert continued her protest work, participating in groups such as Women in Black to protest Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories in addition to United States policies in the middle-east.

In 2004, when gay marriage was temporarily legalized in San Francisco, Ronnie Gilbert married Donna Korones, her manager and partner of almost two decades.

Ronnie Gilbert died on June 6,2015, at a nursing facility in Mill Valley, California, from natural causes, at age 88.