Freedom of speech is currently a contentious topic. On Wednesday, September 18th, Mary Beth Tinker, a notorious free speech activist, gave a talk to students and faculty at the University of Wyoming about why freedom of speech was incredibly important during the 1950s and 60s regarding the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam War, and why it’s still important to maintain our commitment to freedom of speech in the modern day. Tinker started with an overview of the Civil Rights Movement and how she and her family reacted to it growing up.
Tinker was originally located in a small town in Iowa, but her father, a Methodist pastor, was fired from his job after petitioning to open the local public pool to black residents of the town. The Vietnam War began heating up, and the Birmingham Bombing saw several students elsewhere in the country wearing black armbands in remembrance of these victims.
When Tinker was in 8th grade, she and several other classmates wore black armbands to school to protest the United State’s presence in the Vietnam War. She and other students were then suspended for wearing these armbands, and many people began contacting their family threatening them or calling them communists. Later, the school board held a vote about whether to rescind the ban. In a 5-2 vote, the principal’s ban on black armbands was upheld.
Tinker’s case then reached the courts, when the Iowa Civil Liberties Union claimed that the suspension of the students was a violation of their first amendment rights. Initially, a tie in the 8th circuit court of appeals resulted in the principal’s decision staying, but the case was soon appealed to the Supreme Court. Throughout the case, Tinker’s family continued to receive threats of violence for their position. Eventually, in February of 1969, the court ruled 7-2 in favor of Tinker, stating that the student’s first amendment rights had indeed been violated.
Tinker V. Des Moines became a landmark supreme court case, referenced by several cases after the fact with regards to students” continued fight for freedom of speech in public schools.
The Tinker Test, used to determine whether or not a student’s actions regarding freedom of speech is too disruptive for a school environment, is still used in court cases regarding the matter.
Tinker herself commented that students must continue fighting for their rights to speak up, as young people often see past the hypocrisy that tends to plague modern politics and can give fresh insight into how our country should be run in the modern day.
