John Lennon is much more than a member of the Beatles, he played an important role in politics. John was born in Liverpool, United Kingdom on October 9, 1940. John's father is Alfred Lennon and his mother is Julia Lennon. He has two brothers and they are David Henry Lennon and Robin Francis Lennon. Her sisters are Julia Baird, Jacqueline Dykins and Ingrid Pederson. John Lennon married Cynthia Powell on August 23, 1962 and Julian Lennon is their son. John also married Yoko Ono in March 1962 after John and Cynthia separated and their son is Sean Lennon. The places where John lived were New York City, United States and Liverpool, United Kingdom. John Lennon died tragically at age 40 on December 9, 1980. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay John had a difficult life when he was young because he never had a father figure, he was constantly in trouble, his parents separated which made him live with his aunt Mimi and his mother died in early childhood age. The reason John Lennon never had a father figure is because his father, Alfred Lennon, was a merchant seaman and did not see his son very often when John was young, Alfred was also absent when John was born. John constantly got into trouble because he was a prankster and liked to get into trouble. John drew grotesque and crippled figures, something he enjoyed doing as a boy and young adult. John got bad grades in school but had artistic talent, even his teacher thought John Lennon could go to an art school for college. John was also expelled from school at the age of 5 due to his misbehavior. It must have been difficult for John Lennon when his parents separated when he was 4 years old and due to his parents' separation he had to live with his aunt (Smith) Mimi, Julia Lennon's sister. One of the most traumatic events in John's life was when an off-duty police officer who was driving a car fatally struck John's mother, Julia Lennon, in July 1958 and this event devastated John. There were other challenges John Lennon faced: teaching people to stand up for what they believe in and to dream big when he protested the Vietnam War and to stand up for people of color. One of John Lennon's most important jobs was as an activist, which made him a great political figure when he supported black people and when he played an important role in the Peace Movement. John Lennon supported both Native American and African American rights in the early 1970s. In 1971, the Onondaga Indians, a Native American tribe, protested the government-planned construction of a highway through their land, and John Lennon attended the protest. John Lennon affirmed the need for black consciousness and expressed sympathy for the African-American struggle. Belief in self-defense and the Black Panthers' 10-point program was championed and affirmed by John Lennon when he appeared on the Dick Cavett Show in 1972. Founded by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton on October 15, 1966, the Black Panthers was a political organization which challenged police brutality against the African American community and the white establishment pathologized and criminalized the Panthers. Included in the 10-point program were calls for black children to have a dignified education, free from historical prejudice and black self-determination. Huey Newton also stated in the 10-point program that he wanted blacks to have “land, bread, shelter… justice and peace.” Another important role played by John Lennon was the Peace Movement because his ideas of peace were something that people remembered about him and he did this to persuade people to protest againstthe Vietnam War. John protested peacefully with his wife, Yoko Ono, and they both hosted bed-ins, which is when a person stays in their room to protest something for a certain amount of days, in Montreal and Amsterdam. While John and Yoko remained in their rooms during a bed-in in Montreal, they recorded a very popular anti-war song, "Give Peace a Chance." “Imagine” was another famous anti-war song written by John Lennon. The Peace Movement was successful because half a million people gathered together and sang “Give Peace a Chance” as loud as they could, which surprised John but made him happy at the same time, on the second Peace Moratorium Day. Vietnam. Many people listened to John Lennon when he protested for peace in the Peace Movement, which taught many people to dream big and stand up for what you believe in. John Lennon said: “If anyone thinks love and peace are a cliché they must have been left behind in the sixties, that's their problem. Love and peace are eternal.” Another important role that John Lennon played to help politics was being a singer and songwriter. John released the album "Some Time in New York City" in 1971, which is a fascinating historical and social document, although it was not a great commercial or critical success. “Give Peace a Chance,” released in 1969, and “Imagine,” released in 1971, are both famous anti-war songs. Some of the lyrics from the song “Imagine” are: “Imagine all the people living life in peace. You might say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope that one day you will join us and the world will be one." I think this means that everyone must contribute to have peace in the world. Happy Xmas(War is Over) was written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono and was released in 1972. John decided to make the song into a Christmas record with an anti-war message. The song has an anti-war message because the slogan in the song, “The war is over! is the central message of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Peace Movement. People thought of the song Happy Xmas (War is Over) as a Christmas standard rather than a song about protesting the Vietnam War. The meaning of the slogan “The war is over! If you want it” means that people say they hate war and fighting in the world, even if they do nothing about it. That's why you make peace instead of wishing or praying for peace this song with everyone's life, you can't wish or pray to end conflicts with others or yourself, you have to make a change within yourself. “If you want it.” After John Lennon became an influential, successful and highly successful political figure and musician, something tragic happened to him on December 8, 1980. Mark David Chapman murdered John Lennon at around 10.50pm on Monday. Chapman did this because of John Lennon's comment that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus and also found that John's lyrics did not fit his lifestyle, even though Chapman saw the Beatles and Lennon as role models. People were mourning the death of John Lennon and thought it was too soon for John to be silenced. On Wednesday, December 10, 1980, Yoko Ono had John's body cremated after the terrible event. Millions of people around the world responded to Yoko's request, asking everyone to be silent for 10 minutes on December 14, 1981 if they wanted to pray for John. 225,000 people gathered near Central Park in New York while all the radio stations in New York remained on the air for 10 minutes. To mourn John's death, more than 30,000 people gathered in Liverpool, his hometown.