Tinker, Korematsu, and Brown on Landmark Cases

Americans sometimes find themselves at the center of some of the biggest moments in constitutional history. John Tinker, one of the students who brought the lawsuit in the landmark student speech case Tinker v. Des Moines; Karen Korematsu, daughter of Fred Korematsu, petitioner in the Japanese internment case Korematsu v. United States; and Cheryl Brown Henderson, daughter of Reverend Oliver Brown, the petitioner in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, share what that’s like. They describe their families’ experiences bringing these landmark cases, how the outcome affected their lives, and how those cases shaped the Constitution and the country.

February 24 was the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1969 decision in Tinker v. Des Moines.

This program was recorded here at the National Constitution Center on Constitution Day 2017. We were lucky to have lots of students here at the Center and in the audience that day, so you’ll hear their questions for our panelists!

Questions or comments about the podcast? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org.