The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus Imagines a City with No Gun Violence

The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus (Lennon Bus), the premier non-profit 501(c)(3) state-of-the-art mobile production facility that provides hands-on creative experiences to students of all ages, returned to New York City Hall for the launch of the sixth annual Come Together NYC month-long residency on September 16, according to Yoko Ono Lennon.

This year's launch event, entitled Imagine A City With No Gun Violence!, began on board the Lennon Bus with a roundtable discussion bringing student activists and elected officials together with the Bronx-born musical artist Prince Royce to discuss the next steps needed to end gun violence. The event then moved outside to the steps of New York City Hall for a program featuring the participants in the roundtable including Councilmembers Daniel Dromm, Mark Treyger, and Alicka Ampry-Samuel, along with over 200 students from all five boroughs coming together to inspire student activism in honor of John Lennon, who was killed by gunfire.

"John would be very proud to know that this project encourages young people everywhere to embrace their creativity, and share their ideas for ending gun violence. I am so happy to be celebrating the Lennon Bus' 22nd year." said Yoko Ono Lennon.

"After last year's event, we heard from students who wanted elected officials to hear their ideas and consider the next step to making a change. Taking that to heart we set out to produce a program that provided that opportunity." said Lennon Bus Co-Founder Brian Rothschild. "The Lennon Bus is a unique project and giving young people the opportunity to express themselves is a big part of what we've done over the years."

Students and others present were able to write their suggestions on a white stepladder to illustrate the steps that need to be taken to help to resolve the plague that gunfire has brought to America.

"I am happy to once again work with the Lennon Bus, to create awareness. It has been amazing to be able to come together with so many great kids that are serious about working towards gun safety," said Prince Royce.

Councilman Daniel Dromm said, "We must address the issue at its core and look at the experiences kids are bringing to school with them so they can talk about things important to them. We must then have programs that address those issues."

Throughout the New York residency, the Lennon Bus will be making stops at schools, public events and trade shows across all five boroughs of the city. Visitors to the Lennon Bus will receive an exclusive look at the latest in music products as well as audio, video and broadcast technologies found on board. Students also learn about potential career paths first-hand from the engineers who live and work on board the multi-million dollar facility that travels year round throughout the U.S.. Students at each stop will spend a full day developing an original project, creating the music, video, and images needed to take their ideas from concept to delivery.

Partners include Apple Inc., Yamaha Corporation of America, OWC, the Mayor's Office, the NY City Council, the Department of Cultural Affairs, the NY State Assembly as well as anti-gun violence organizations Everytown For Gun Safety, Students Demand Action and Peace is A Lifestyle.

To post a comment, you must register and login.