It is the 1960s, and you get your news from television and newspapers. The TV news shows young people protesting the Vietnam War and fighting for civil rights. John and Mary-Beth Tinker are Iowa public school students who decide to protest the Vietnam War. They wear black armbands to school and are suspended. In the 1969 Supreme Court case, Tinker vs. Des Moines, the judges decide that kids have the right to freedom of speech. They also decide that speech includes actions, not only words.