In 1965, John and Mary Beth Tinker went to school in Des Moines wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War. They were suspended, and the incident led to a landmark Supreme Court decision that guaranteed free speech rights for public school students. For our Iowa Famous series, host Charity Nebbe revisits this history with John and Mary Beth and they discuss present day threats to the First Amendment.
Later in the episode, when Megan Gogerty's charming though unreliable alcoholic father passed away, she learned of family history he didn't previously share that shows ancestral ties to the founding of the state of Iowa. She examines Iowa's and her family's past in her new play "Fair State," which will be performed later this month in Iowa City.
Guests:
- Mary Beth Tinker, free speech activist, retired nurse
- John Tinker, free speech activist, general manager, KPIP-LP
- Megan Gogerty, Iowa City-based playwright and monologuist
