Mary Beth Tinker, of the historic Tinker v. Des Moines case, to speak at CWU

In 1965, a teenage Mary Beth Tinker made a stand for her First Amendment right to free speech by wearing a simple black armband. She was 13 years old.

Tinker, her older brother, and a group of students came together in silent protest of the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands on their arms. According to Tinker, the images shown about the war going on in Vietnam were terrible: children running from burning huts and fallen soldiers. Boys from Tinker's neighborhood were being drafted to join the war effort.

"We thought we were doing a small thing," Tinker said. "We were upset about the war."

Read more of this story in the Observer.

Tinker will speak at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 7, in the SURC Theatre. The event is free and open to the public.