BENTONVILLE — Mary Beth Tinker told Bentonville High School students she was "really scared and nervous" when she wore a black armband to her school nearly 50 years ago, touching off a controversy that would lead to a landmark Supreme Court case.
More than 1,000 students filled the Arend Arts Center on Wednesday to hear Tinker speak about her experience and her passion for free-speech rights.
Tinker was 13 years old in December 1965 when her brother and their friend decided to wear black armbands to school to mourn those killed in the Vietnam War and to support Robert F. Kennedy’s call for a Christmas truce.
"I was kind of shy and I wasn't sure I was going to do it because I didn't want to get in trouble," Tinker said.
A vice principal told her to remove her armband, and Tinker did. She was suspended anyway, as were the other students who wore armbands.
The U.S. Supreme Court eventually heard the students' case, and in 1969 ruled 7-2 in the students' favor, saying their form of protest was protected by the First Amendment. That ruling is officially known as Tinker v. Independent Community School District No. 21.