John Tinker experienced a range of emotions while wearing a black armband to school to protest the Vietnam War in 1965. He describes what he was thinking and feeling, as well as the reaction from other students, teachers and the principal.

Additional resources, including the an audio recording of the U.S. Supreme Court opening arguments for the Tinker Case and the text of the Court’s case decision, are available on the Iowa PBS 50th Anniversary of the Tinker v. Des Moines Schools Decision and Students’ Right to Freedom of Speech: The Tinker Case websites.