John f. tinker biography

President

John Tinker

With the help of their parents, John, along with his sister Mary Beth and their friend Christopher Eckhardt brought a suit against the Des Moines, Iowa, Public School District, for having violated their First Amendment Rights to freedom of speech.

This lawsuit resulted in the landmark 1969 United States Supreme Court decision "Tinker v.

John f. tinker biography death

Des Moines".

John was born in 1950, and grew up in Iowa. One of 6 children, his father was a Methodist minister, who lost his job preaching in a small town in Iowa because he stood up for the rights of the black children in that town to use the public swimming pool.

The family was relocated to Des Moines, and their father, the Reverend Leonard E. Tinker, Jr., became the minister of a church in that city. He soon became involved in the civil rights movement activities which were taking place in Des Moines, and his new church did not renew his contract.

John and his siblings lived through these rough times in the family, and he