Protecting Student Free Speech in 1968: How Tinker Helped Student Protests
“Students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate.” -Tinker
In December of 1965, Mary Beth Tinker and other students decided to publicize their objections to the hostilities in Vietnam and their support for a truce by wearing black armbands during the holiday season.The school board found out about the armbands and their significance and passed a preemptive ban. When attempting to come to school in mid-December, Mary Beth was asked to remove her armband, but she refused. Because of this, she and other students were sent home. The students returned to school after the Christmas break without armbands, but in protest wore black clothing for the remainder of the school year. This became a Supreme Court case throughout 1968 and in 1969, the Court ruled that the First Amendment applied to public schools, and school officials could not censor student speech unless it disrupted the educational process.
In Chicago, 1968, students took the lead in the ouster of principals at Harrison High School and other schools, and supported teacher and community demands for the removal of principals at Englewood and Farragut High Schools. Parents and community organizations sponsored a conference in May 1968 called “Judgment Day for Racism in West Side Schools.” Over 500 people attended workshops dealing with community control of schools, inadequate teacher training, and racist interpretations in the teaching of American history. The conference and other activism on the West Side undoubtedly had an impact on West Side students, since they both attended and spoke at the conference. Farragut High School’s black teachers served as another influence on students. These educators issued the “Black Manifesto” to the news media and to school officials in September 1968 calling for more Black History courses, black administrators, and various other school improvements.
The manifesto included a set of deadlines for each demand, and teachers organized walkouts, picketed on lunch breaks, and hosted a two-day teach-in. Farragut teachers, along with students and community members, ousted the principal, and together they ran the school under “community control” for one year. Although a principal was assigned, a committee representing teachers, community members, and students made the day-to-day decisions. In communities such as Englewood, North Lawndale, and Woodlawn, the parents, teachers, and community organizations mobilized to increase community control of local public schools; and students assisted and were inspired by their actions. Students began organizing walkouts at their individual schools and eventually came together citywide to boycott classes to protest the inadequate educational programs and facilities and to insist that specific changes be made. After the citywide efforts in 1968 ended, students continued their walkouts at individual schools, and continued issuing demands for educational changes.
Typically when we think of student protests in the 60’s, we think of college students banning together to fight for different rights. This Supreme Court case set precedent for other noteworthy high school student protests that happened in 1968 and it’s important to emphasize the effort and passion of these high school students to fight for these issues. You can take from Tinker the equally important recognition that schools are unique environments where individual rights must be carefully weighed and balanced against the compelling interest of school safety, order, and discipline. These students were looking deeper than the history they were given, much like we are doing now. Without Tinker leading the way for students to voice their opinions about the world going on around them, we might have lost crucial pieces of history that aren’t normally voiced.
Works Cited
Danns, Dionne. “Chicago high school students’ movement for quality public education, 1966–1971.” The Journal of African American History, vol. 88, no. 2, 2003, p. 138+. Expanded Academic ASAP, http://link.galegroup.com.dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/apps/doc/A107121389/EAIM?u=sunyfredonia&sid=EAIM&xid=dc850520. Accessed 17 Apr. 2018.
Kellman, Bonnie A. “Tinkering with Tinker: protecting the First Amendment in public schools.” Notre Dame Law Review, Nov. 2009, p.367+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com.dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/apps/doc/A215481546/ITOF?u=sunyfredonia&sid=ITOF&xid=cd9af9ae. Accessed 12 Apr. 2018.
Taylor, Kelley R. “Revisiting Tinker.” Principal Leadership, vol. 13, no. 7, Mar. 2013, pp. 8–10. EBSCOhost,dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=85948248&site=ehost-live.
