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**Social Change Movement** – anti- war advocate John Lennon was for peace and political activism. Lennon returned his MBE (Member of the British Empire), in protest over Great Britain's support for the Vietnam War. It was evident in his music, such as “//Give Peace a Chance//” that he wanted a world full of non-violence. The song “//Give Peace a Chance//” was sung by half a million Vietnam War protestors at the second Vietnam Moratorium Day, only one of his many concerts he held to raise peace awareness. Another organized rally was at the Chicago Democratic Convention, to protest the Vietnam War. Then also later in Michigan to free John Sinclair, leader of the White Panther Party, who had been arrested for selling joints of marijuana to undercover policemen. Sinclair was released, marijuana possession was unconstitutional. Lennon wanted the people to speak out and have a voice against the government, and he made this very clear in his songs.

**Purpose** – John Lennon was an English rock musician, singer, songwriter, author, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of the Beatles. But growing up without a mother, and not having a very functional household, John didn’t want to live with anymore violence. Following his heart, he dropped out of art school and music became his way of life. When he realized how talented he was he began putting his own personal beliefs into his music, and a lot of people were sharing the same feelings. People could relate to hating war, violence, and wanting peace. John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England. When he was four years old, his parents separated. His father was a seaman who wasn’t around much. John ended up living with his Aunt Mimi because Julia Lennon decided that she was unable to care for John as well as she should. Julia Lennon was killed when she was struck by a car driven by an off-duty police officer when John was just 16 years old. Lennon's aunt Mimi got John accepted into the Liverpool College of Art by showing them some of his drawings. John grew to hate art school and became increasingly interested in music and song writing. Eventually, in the late 1950s, Lennon formed his own group called The Quarry Men, which later became The Beatles.
 * Background- **

the Beatles were discovered by Brian Epstein in 1961. The Beatles went on to become the most popular band in Britain with the release hits like //She Loves You// and //I Want To Hold Your Hand.// They became the first band to break out big in the United States, beginning with their appearance on TV's //The Ed Sullivan Show//. Just before the Beatles' official breakup, Lennon began his solo career, more than half of which consisted of writing songs and recording his public pleas for world peace with Ono, his second wife. He expressed his feelings of hate towards war and violence through his songs and made people aware of the problems. Concerts were put in place to raise money, promote awareness, and express how strongly he felt in being an anti- war advocate. He was supported in these concerts by Tommy Smothers, Timothy Leary, Petula Clark, Dick Gregory, and Murray the K.   Tim Leary and Black Panthers- joined Lennon in some protests McCartney – They became friends and wrote songs together after the death of Julia Lennon, Paul lost his own mother to breast cancer when he was 14, and this brought them closer together Bob Dylan- He introduced Beatles to marijuana and they later went farther into drugs People who didn’t support drug usage, and those for the war Also, those people who did not agree with his songs- which is why he was killed
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Works cited: //DeCurti, Anthony. “Biography.” John Lennon- The Official Site. 2009. Web. 22. Dec. 2009..//

Hammett, William. "Lennon's Political Activism." //John Lennon and the Mercy Street Café //. 2009. Web. 22 Dec. 2009. [].

"John Lennon." //Wikipedia //. Wikipedia, 21 Dec. 2009. Web. 22 Dec. 2009. [].