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 leading to a landmark Supreme Court case.
More than 1,000 students filled the school's Arend Arts Center on Wednesday to hear Tinker speak about her experience and her passion for free-speech rights. Haven Brown, a senior, interviewed Tinker on stage before the audience was allowed to ask her questions.
Essay contest
In conjunction with Mary Beth Tinker’s visit, Bentonville High School’s Parent Teacher Organization sponsored an essay contest. The theme of the contest was freedom of expression as it relates to social media. During Wednesday’s program, the organization announced sophomore Matt Dougherty as the contest winner and presented him with a check for $100.
Source: Staff Report
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. They lived in Iowa at the time.
"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 was a small group of 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 U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. That ruling is officially known as Tinker v. Independent Community School District No. 21.
Tinker told students she didn't realize what a big case it was until she saw it cited years later in one of her nursing school textbooks.
Tinker said she and her family were the target of hate when news spread about the suspensions.
"People were calling us Communists," Tinker said. "And my mother said, 'We're not Communists, we're Methodists.'"
The School District's argument for suspending the students was they were causing a disruption with their armbands, Tinker said.
"But there really wasn't any disruption," she said. "They just wanted that expression to be something the schools agreed with."
One student from the audience asked where Tinker draws the line between freedom of speech and acts of sedition.
Tinker said there's no clear line.
"When you figure out the answer, write me," she said.
Questions for Tinker also touched on issues of today, such as the recent debates in Indiana and Arkansas pitting religious freedom against the civil rights of homosexuals. A student who identified herself as part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community asked Tinker how she felt about using religion to propagate hatred.
Tinker said she's experienced that within her own family. When Tinker was young, her father was kicked out of his church for speaking up for the civil rights of blacks, she said.
"I myself am gay," Tinker said, adding she decided to be honest about her sexuality in order to help give courage to others who struggled with their identities.
That comment brought a standing ovation from some in the audience.
Tinker added, "But I also respect there are those who believe it's against their religion to support homosexuality," she said, drawing more applause.
Tinker, a registered nurse, lives in Washington, D.C. She said she retired last year to concentrate on her "Tinker Tour" to promote youth voices, free speech and a free press. She's visited about 150 schools in 30 states, she said.
She came to Northwest Arkansas this week on a trip organized and paid for by the University of Arkansas. In addition to her stop in Bentonville, she made appearances and speeches at the university, Woodland Junior High School in Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville.
The Bentonville High audience included all Advanced Placement government and Advanced Placement U.S. history students, among others.
Greg Puckett, a Bentonville High social studies teacher, said he met Tinker at an Arkansas curriculum conference in November.
"I told her I'd love to have her come speak to us," Puckett said.
EvaMarie David, 17, a Bentonville High senior, spent time after Wednesday's program talking with Tinker. David said the event was one of the best experiences she'd had at the school.
"This is history that just took place," said David, who described herself as a civil rights advocate. "That experience was one of a kind."
Bethany Dickerson, 18, said as a student journalist she took Tinker's message about free speech to heart.
"I thought it was really empowering to hear her talk about the case and how she feels about it now," Dickerson said.
NW News on 04/09/2015