On April 1st, the most influential person for student First Amendment rights gave a presentation at Whitney High School and Rocklin government and journalism students got to meet her. Mary Beth Tinker, a women who is an American free speech activist known for her role in the 1969 Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District Supreme Court case, which ruled that Warren Harding Junior High School could not punish her for wearing a black armband to school in support of a truce in the Vietnam War. The case set a precedent for student speech in school.

Tinker was only a junior high school student when she decided to wear a black armband to school in protest of the United States’ involvement in Vietnam. Her bravery to stand up for what she believes in has inspired many students across the nation and across the world as she goes on her Tinker Tour spreading her story about the freedom and rights we all deserve regardless of age.

Click here for a collection of tweets and pictures from the phenomenal event – https://storify.com/rocklinhsflash/tinker-tour-comes-to-rocklin