Q&A: Mary Beth Tinker

The Eagle Eye staff interviews plaintiff from Tinker v. Des Moines case 50 years after landmark ruling

Mary Beth Tinker wore a black armband to school to protest the Vietnam War and was suspended for it. She felt that her First Amendment rights had been violated and took her case all the way to the Supreme Court in the landmark case, Tinker v. Des Moines, that set a precedent for free speech and expression for students in public schools.

Why do you feel that the freedom of the press, especially in today’s world, is so important and relevant?

Without the freedom of the press, we can’t communicate with each other, and we can’t learn the truth of what’s going on in the world so that we can make changes, and we need to make some changes, because we’re certainly not going to be satisfied with the way things are right now.

What’s one thing you would say to journalists who are struggling with censorship?

First of all, you can contact some of your supporters, and those can be found at the Student Press Law Center. And you can check with some others that have dealt with things like this, like some students from Texas, and there are others around the country, a teacher, a parent. And if the censorship is also something about your free speech, and something that you want to express, you can check with the American Civil Liberties Union, they can be helpful, also an adviser or write to me at TinkerTour@gmail, and I’ll see if I can help out too.

You noted in your presentation the other day that only 2% of Americans know about the freedom of petition, which is a problem. Why do you think that is?

The basic fundamentals of democracy are not being taught as much as they should. And that’s a problem with not having enough money, or teachers or schools, and kids not having what you need. You should have everything that you need. You should have great teachers and small class sizes and arts and music… you should be able to have the resources that you need.

Why do you feel that students today, still feel the need to petition and protest for their rights and freedoms?

Conditions of students are not optimal. I’m a nurse, and I spent my career working with children and teenagers mostly as a trauma nurse, but also in clinics, and in hospital rooms and in schools too. And so, for example, young people are the most likely to live in poverty. I just saw a report that girls, ages 16 to 19, are three and a half times more likely to be sexually molested. When I was in Seattle, some months ago, I learned that the homeless rate of teenagers has doubled in the last five years....There are just so many examples of how kids aren’t really getting a fair deal in the way that we have arranged our society. So who is really powerful and changing that, you, yourselves, young people, when you speak up and stand up about this.

I think it really helps when you take action; it helps, it helps you feel better. And it’s even good [because] you connect with other people and meet all kinds of interesting people.

Do you have an optimistic or pessimistic viewpoint over where our government is heading, especially in light in the change in student voting across America?

I feel very optimistic. As I travel around the country, I met with so many Parkland students this week, and I had a chance to talk with all of you. I’ve been following what you’ve been doing since the shooting; it’s really heartening. It’s wonderful. I love the movement that you’ve created and how you’ve linked also to students of color. I think that’s just so heartening because it shows a higher awareness of the problem and the need to link these communities to each other. So I think it’s just very heartening.

In the program yesterday, a girl from a small town in Iowa was talking about how she’s speaking up about taking care of the land and agriculture and taking care of animals, students are speaking of LGBTQ rights and women’s rights and immigration rights. There’s just so many things, students speaking up against racial injustice and has started clubs in their school like one in Maryland, where I was recently, and there’s just so much as a student. The good news is that when you do that, and it’s kind of helpful to deal with your feelings of, frustration, grief, and even hopelessness, which, of course, we all feel sometimes. I think it really helps when you take action; it helps, it helps you feel better. And it’s even good [because] you connect with other people and meet all kinds of interesting people like I have this week.

If your trial occurred today, do you think you would have the same outcome or a different outcome?

I think if the Tinker case went to the Supreme Court today, the court would also rule in our favor because even conservative justices want young people to have rights... I asked [Justice Alito] a few years ago, when I was at the Supreme Court for a program on the Tinker case, if he would still, you know, vote for the students if the Tinker case came and he said, “Yes, I would, because I believe that students should have the rights.” A lot of conservative students want to speak up about things that have other ideas... and so to the adults that are conservative and liberal as well, they have, you know, people just want youth to have a voice

So especially out of our movement from Parkland, we really used the power of social media through the hashtags “MSD Strong” and the hashtag “Never Again.” Do you feel like if you had social media at the time that you would have utilized it?

Yes, I think social media is a very good tool, and I’m so impressed by the way that you have used it in Parkland to really make a difference and to connect students and adults from all over the country. We definitely would have used it because you want to use every tool at your disposal. We had an armband. You have smart phones. You have social media, and you’re really using it very effectively. And I’m just so heartened to see that, and I am already part of your movement.

Can you explain what’s happening this week, and how student journalists and activists across the country are participating?

This is Scholastic Journalism Week and this year has just been declared the Year of the Student Journalist by the Newseum in Washington, D.C. so I’m really excited to be kicking it off this week here at the Tinkerversary in Des Moines with student journalists from Texas, all of you from Florida, students from Arkansas, Iowa journalism students, and we’re going to carry that into the next year as we keep campaigning for New Voices legislation.

Do you have anything left to say, just for our readers?

I would just like to say it’s really all about love and making connections. I love all of you, and I’m really looking forward to working together more so that we can end gun violence and pass some common sense gun laws. It means so much to me it’s an issue that is near and dear to my heart because as a nurse, I’ve just taken care of way too many kids that have been shot. I’m really heartbroken about the violence in the United States. I’m looking forward to being part of the movement, and I already am. Thank you for everything that you’ve been doing; you’re wonderful. Interview by Leni Steinhardt