'Tinker Tour' promotes First Amendment with plaintiff in SCOTUS student-speech case
Corrected: A plaintiff in the landmark school speech case, Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, will be driving to 18 states in an RV to talk to students about taking a stand on issues that are important to them.
Mary Beth Tinker was just 13 years old when she was suspended from her school for wearing a black arm band to protest the Vietnam War. Now 61, she has worked as a piano technician, a nurse, and a union organizer for nurses, the Associated Press reports.
The “Tinker Tour” is sponsored by several organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Student Press Law Center. Tinker will be joined by a lawyer, Mike Hiestand of the Student Press Law Center, who will talk about the First Amendment and student press rights.
The tour kicked off this week in Philadelphia. According to this press release and fall itinerary, it ends on Nov. 25 in Kansas City. Fundraising for a spring tour continues.
Corrected on Sept. 19 to state that Mary Beth Tinker was a plaintiff, rather than the name plaintiff.
