Tonight I had the opportunity to listen to Mary Beth Tinker talk about her  life and how she became a champion for the rights of young people. While listening to her story, I was taken with the stories about her childhood how her family was forced to relocate after her minister father questioned why the officials in their town would not allow the African American children to go to the local pool. She grew up in a home that fostered the belief that people mattered and doing the right thing mattered, she said, “We talked about peace all the time at home.”

If the name Tinker sounds familiar, it’s because she’s in our history books. During the Vietnam War, her brother and his friends decided to wear black armbands to school as a statement against the loss of young lives. School officials got wind and created a rule prohibiting the wearing of black armbands. She and the boys were suspended and the rest is history….really.

The Tinker v. Des Moines case set the legal precedent that neither teachers nor students lose their rights while on school grounds. Mike Hiestand of the SPLC said tonight, “Her case is the law of the land today. Over 6,000 cases have cited hers.”

What stood out to me the most is her belief that young people have rights and they need to know those rights. If young people don’t know their rights, how do they know whether their rights are being protected or violated? As a nurse, Tinker has worked with children of all ages helping them heal and advocating for their rights. In am still in awe that I got to hear a true living legend and a real life hero. It was inspiring to listen to someone who changed our country for the better and still believes in the power of young people to affect change in their world.

Statements from her speech. 

“I think the First Amendment is about the way we treat each other.”

“Rights are like muscles, if you don’t use them, you can lose them.”

“You (young people) should respect your responsibilties. Other people have rights, too.”

“Young people want to make things better.”