Fifty years ago on Feb. 24, 1969, the United States Supreme Court sided with Iowa students and young people all across the country, protecting their First Amendment rights within school buildings in the Tinker v. Des Moines case.

The majority opinion of the court released their ruling and wrote that “it can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”

Last March, students met with Mary Beth Tinker in Washington, D.C. to discuss student activism and school walkouts.

In this audio story, that aired this afternoon on 97.1 WXOX ARTxFM at 3 p.m. as part of Z-Radio, I recount my experiences meeting Tinker, the history and precedent of the case.

Z-Radio airs every Monday from 3-4 p.m.