Question

The pivotal Supreme Court decision which ruled that wearing black armbands in school to protest war was a form of symbolic speech, and therefore protected by the First Amendment was (A) Gitlow v. New York (1925) (B) Texas v. Johnson ( 1989) (C) Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) (D) Reno v. Shaw (1993)

Answer 1

Answer:

(C) Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)  

Explanation:

In 1965, a case between three teenagers who wore black armbands to school in protest of the Vietnam war and were subsequently suspended for failing to remove the  armbands and Des Moines Independent Community School District appeared before the Supreme Court. In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court explained that all form of speech, both symbolic speech such as the protest with armbands are protected under the the first amendment right of freedom of speech and expression. The court concluded that freedom of speech includes as form of symbolic speech.