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2 unusual facts about Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District


John Tinker

John Tinker, lead plaintiff in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, a U.S. Supreme Court case on student freedom of speech

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District

In 1965, Des Moines, Iowa residents John F. Tinker (15 years old), John's younger sister Mary Beth Tinker (13 years old), and their friend Christopher Eckhardt (16 years old) decided to wear black armbands to their schools (high school for John and Christopher, junior high for Mary Beth) in protest of the Vietnam War and supporting the Christmas Truce called for by Senator Robert F. Kennedy.


Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project

During the National Moot Court Competition in 2012, Mary Beth Tinker of the famous Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District spoke to the competitors about the importance of knowing one's rights and of knowing how the justice system can affect their everyday lives.

Youth activism

In the 1960s, the Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas handed out two landmark case decisions in favor of youth rights, Tinker v. Des Moines and In re Gault.


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