Mary Beth Tinker
| Mary Beth Tinker | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1952 Des Moines, Iowa |
| Relatives | Bonnie Tinker (sister) |
Mary Beth Tinker is an American free speech activist known for her role in the 1969 Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District Supreme Court case, which ruled that Warren Harding Junior High School could not punish her for wearing a black armband in school in support of a truce in the Vietnam War. The case set a precedent for student speech in schools.
When Tinker was 13, she wore a black armband to school in protest of the United States' involvement in Vietnam as a member of a group of students who decided to do this.
On December 11, 1965, a student named Christopher Eckhardt held a meeting with a large group of students at his home in Des Moines, Iowa. Planning a school protest against the Vietnam War, the group decided to wear black armbands in school on December 16. They chose to keep wearing them until January 1, 1966. During a meeting for Des Moines School District principals on December 14, 1965, a policy was adopted that required all students wearing armbands in school to remove them. In this meeting, principals agreed that students were to be suspended if they disagreed.
Thirteen-year-old Mary Beth Tinker was a student at Warren Harding Junior High who was among two dozen elementary, middle, and high school students that wore black arm bands to school on December 16 and 17. Five students were singled out for punishment, including Mary Beth and her brother John.
Tinker reported that immediately after being suspended, her family received many threats from the public. "A man who had a radio talk show threatened my father on the air. Red paint was thrown on our house. A woman called on the phone, asked for me by name, and then said, 'I’m going to kill you!'"
On December 21, 200 people attended the district school board meeting. Deciding to postpone a decision, at a January 3 meeting, the school board voted 5-2 to uphold the principals' ban. On March 14, the Iowa Civil Liberties Union filed a formal complaint on behalf of Christopher Eckhardt, John Tinker, his sister Mary Beth, and their fathers in the U. S. District Court of the Southern District of Iowa. The case claimed that by suspending them, Des Moines Public Schools had infringed on their right to free expression as enshrined in First Amendment. The District Court dismissed the complaint and upheld the constitutionality of the school actions, on the basis that the students disturbed learning in their schools.
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