Annual Forum at New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Foundation

On Friday, March 22, the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Foundation (NJVVMF) will hold its Annual Interdisciplinary Forum from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 1 Memorial Lane, Holmdel, NJ, Exit 116 off the Garden State Parkway.

Mary Beth Tinker will open the program with a keynote address about her life’s work as a children’s rights activist and educator. Tinker will focus on her role in advocating for and protecting First Amendment rights for youth as plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court case, Tinker v Des Moines.

Additional presentations include: Elizabeth Matto, Center for Youth Political Participation, Eagleton Institute for Politics at Rutgers University, speaking on the 26th Amendment and Youth Civic Participation; Angela Crockett Coxen, former president of the New Jersey Librarians Association, retired Digital Media Specialist, Paterson Public Schools, and Consultant for the Priority Schools Initiative with NJEA, lecturing on Fake News; Callie Wright, Educator from The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund - The Wall - about the civic responsibility of the draft, Ken Hoffman from Seton Hall presenting his Photos of Vietnam in the NJVVMF Museum theater, and Mark Levy, civil rights expert, teacher at a Freedom School in Mississippi in 1968, and part of the Speakers Bureau at Facing History and Ourselves.

The program includes a panel discussion with Vietnam Veterans who, along with Tinker, will explore the impact of anti-war protests on civilians in the United States as well as the soldiers in Vietnam.

ABOUT MARY BETH TINKER

Mary Beth Tinker was 13 when she was suspended for wearing a black armband to protest the Vietnam War. In their ruling, the Supreme Court upheld First Amendment protections for students, stating that the school could not censor student speech unless it disrupted the educational process.

Today, Tinker continues her work as an activist, traveling the country and educating young people about their rights and civic responsibilities. She directs the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project at American University. In 2006, as a tribute to Tinker's devotion to the rights of young people, the ACLU National Board of Directors' Youth Affairs Committee renamed its annual youth affairs award, the "Mary Beth Tinker Youth Involvement Award.

ABOUT THE INTERDISCIPLINARY FORUM

The annual Forum is the signature event in the NJVVMF’s education program. The event draws teachers and educators from around New Jersey and the tri-state area to engage in conversation and curriculum development exercises that address key lessons associated with the Vietnam War and the Vietnam era. NJVVMF education events are designed to leverage the first-person experiences of Vietnam Veteran volunteers as well as the Museum’s primary source, archival materials to present the events and impact of the Vietnam War and era in context, allowing participants to learn from history and better understand and respond to current events.

ABOUT THE NEW JERSEY VIETNAM VETERANS’ MEMORIAL FOUNDATION

The New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial, dedicated May 7, 1995, was built to encourage and foster patriotism and provide for recognition of the sacrifices, courage and valor of the New Jersey Veterans of the Vietnam Era. The Vietnam Era Museum & Educational Center, dedicated in September 1998, strives to encourage and foster a thorough understanding of the Vietnam era, including the political, historical, social, cultural and military aspects that affected the United States, especially New Jersey. For more information, visit www.njvvmf.org