Protest Plans for Des Moines Students
12/1965
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This document was entered as defendants' Exhibit 1 in John F. Tinker et. al. v. The Des Moines Independent Community School District et. al. It describes plans for a peaceful protest against the Vietnam War involving fasting and the wearing of arm bands.
A group of Des Moines, Iowa, adults and students met in December 1965 to plan a public protest against the Vietnam War. A group of junior high and high school students decided to wear black arm bands from December 16th until New Year's Day to peacefully express their "grief over the deaths of soldiers and civilians in Vietnam."
The students planned to put this notice in the Roosevelt High School newspaper inviting other students to join the effort. However, the editorial was censored by the high school and was instead shared with local media.
On December 14, Des Moines School District principals met and enacted a rule that "any student wearing an arm band would be asked to remove the arm band, and if he refused he would be suspended until he returned without the arm band." The policy was announced to all students on December 15, as well as reported in The Des Moines Register.
A group of Des Moines, Iowa, adults and students met in December 1965 to plan a public protest against the Vietnam War. A group of junior high and high school students decided to wear black arm bands from December 16th until New Year's Day to peacefully express their "grief over the deaths of soldiers and civilians in Vietnam."
The students planned to put this notice in the Roosevelt High School newspaper inviting other students to join the effort. However, the editorial was censored by the high school and was instead shared with local media.
On December 14, Des Moines School District principals met and enacted a rule that "any student wearing an arm band would be asked to remove the arm band, and if he refused he would be suspended until he returned without the arm band." The policy was announced to all students on December 15, as well as reported in The Des Moines Register.
Students Mary Beth Tinker, John Tinker, Christopher Eckhardt, and two others were suspended after refusing to remove their black arm bands when they arrived at school on December 16th and 17th. About a dozen other students also wore arm bands. Upon their suspensions, the Tinkers and Eckhardt refused to return to school until after New Year's Day – the intended period for wearing the arm bands.
With assistance from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Tinker and Eckhardt families filed a complaint against the school district for violation of the right to free speech under the First Amendment, and further that First Amendment rights are protected from state infringement (such as a public school board) under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Tinkers and Eckhardts testified that their purpose for wearing the arm bands was to mourn those who died in the Vietnam War and to support Senator Robert Kennedy's proposal that the truce proposed for Christmas Day 1965 be indefinitely extended.
The U.S. District Court dismissed the case, agreeing with the school district's actions, based on their claim that the arm bands would have caused a disruption at the school. After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit split evenly over the decision, thus upholding the District Court decision by default, the Tinkers and Eckhardts appealed their case to the Supreme Court.
In the landmark 1969 Tinker v. Des Moines decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, the Tinkers and Eckhardts. In the opinion, written by Justice Abe Fortas, the Court stated "[The wearing of arm bands] was closely akin to 'pure speech' which, we have repeatedly held, is entitled to comprehensive protection under the First Amendment." Further, "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate," Justice Fortas wrote for the majority.
With assistance from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Tinker and Eckhardt families filed a complaint against the school district for violation of the right to free speech under the First Amendment, and further that First Amendment rights are protected from state infringement (such as a public school board) under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Tinkers and Eckhardts testified that their purpose for wearing the arm bands was to mourn those who died in the Vietnam War and to support Senator Robert Kennedy's proposal that the truce proposed for Christmas Day 1965 be indefinitely extended.
The U.S. District Court dismissed the case, agreeing with the school district's actions, based on their claim that the arm bands would have caused a disruption at the school. After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit split evenly over the decision, thus upholding the District Court decision by default, the Tinkers and Eckhardts appealed their case to the Supreme Court.
In the landmark 1969 Tinker v. Des Moines decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, the Tinkers and Eckhardts. In the opinion, written by Justice Abe Fortas, the Court stated "[The wearing of arm bands] was closely akin to 'pure speech' which, we have repeatedly held, is entitled to comprehensive protection under the First Amendment." Further, "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate," Justice Fortas wrote for the majority.
Transcript
3 [in red circle, top left corner]5 L J Tinker [in pencil, top right corner]
[stamp]
DEFENDANTS
Exhibit /
Cause No.7-1810-C
Date JUL 25 1966
U. S. District Court
Southern Dist. of Iowa
[handwritten] Deft's. Ex. 1
[stamp]
FILED
JUL 26 1966
F. E. Van Austin
Clerk, U. S. District Court
Southern District of Iowa
WE MOURN [bordered]
ATTENTION STUDENTS:
Some high school and college students in Iowa who are interested in expressing their grief over the deaths of soldiers and civilians in Vietnam will fast on Thursday, December 16th. They will also wear black arm bands starting on that same day, December 16th. The National Liberation Front (Vietcong) recently proposed a 12-hour truce on Christmas Eve. The United States has not yet replied to their offer. However, Senator Robert Kennedy has suggested that the truce be extended indefinitely pending negotiations. If the United States takes this action the arm bands will be removed. If it does not the armbands will be worn throughout the holiday season and there will be a second fast on New Year's Day. High school and college students are also encouraged to forego their usual New Year's Eve activities and meet together to discuss this complex war and possible ways of ending the killing of Vietnamese and Americans.
A meeting in Des Moines on New Year's Eve will be held at the home of Bruce Clark, 925-29th, for further information call his home. The meeting is being sponsored by Liberal Religious Youth the youth organization of the Unitarian Universalist Association. All students interested in saving lives and ending the war in Vietnam are urged to attend.
PLEASE COME!
This primary source comes from the Records of District Courts of the United States.
National Archives Identifier: 7788707
Full Citation: Defendants' Exhibit 1 in John F. Tinker et. al. v. The Des Moines Independent Community School District et. al.; 12/1965; Civil Case Number 7-1810-C1; John F. Tinker et. al. v. The Des Moines Independent Community School District et. al.; Civil Case Files, 1938 - 1997; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives at Kansas City, Kansas City, MO. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/we-mourn, October 1, 2023]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
