Mamie Tape was born to Chinese American parents in 1876 in San Francisco, Calif. From a young age, Mamie “searched for a treasure greater than gold. … She discovered glimmers of it in numbers and letters when she learned to read. Mamie wanted more. She wanted to go to school with the children in her neighborhood.”
In 1884 when Mamie was of school age, Chinese children weren’t allowed to attend San Francisco public schools. Mamie’s parents decided to take Mamie to school anyway. However, their hopes were dashed when Miss Hurley, the principal of Spring Valley School, which was just around the corner from their home, refused to allow Mamie to enter.
Mamie was hurt and perplexed. She knew that America was her home, so “why didn’t her country welcome her? Why did she feel like a foreigner in her homeland?”
So began her parents’ long legal battle to pave the way for Mamie and other Chinese American children to attend public schools. The Tapes were motivated by their belief that God had made all people and thus everyone had the right to learn.
This concise, informative picture book narrates the struggles, sorrows, and victories of the Tape family and other civil rights activists to ensure that all children would have the right to a public education. Author Marie Chan concludes, “Mamie found a treasure worth more than gold when she lived to see her younger sisters, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren go to integrated schools. Her courage paved the way for schools to become places where children would not be judged by their race or ancestry, but would be welcomed and given an equal opportunity to learn.”
Illustrator Sian James’s vivid artwork complements Marie Chan’s narrative by portraying the sadness, anger, frustration, joy, and exhilaration that participants in the fight for educational justice experienced. (Harvest House)
About the Author
Sonya VanderVeen Feddema is a freelance writer and a member of Covenant CRC in St. Catharines, Ontario.