Barbra Ehrenreich, the author, journalist and political activist who wrote “Nickel and Dimed,” a groundbreaking work of immersive journalism that presaged and arguably helped spark the resurgence of the American labor movement, has died. She was 81.
Ehrenreich died Thursday in Alexandria, Va., after recently suffering a stroke, the Associated Press reported Friday.
“Sad news. Barbara Ehrenreich, my one and only mother, died on September 1, a few days after her 81st birthday,” her son, author and journalist Ben Ehrenreich, tweeted Friday.
“She was, she made clear, ready to go. She was never much for thoughts and prayers, but you can honor her memory by loving one another, and by fighting like hell,” he wrote.
The Montana-born writer, also known for “Bait and Switch” and “Natural Causes,” rallied for a higher minimum wage, pushed against white privilege and challenged conventional thinking about race, religion, class, American expectionalism and the gap between rich and poor.
This story will be updated.
