Reviewed by Deborah Menkart
Review Source: Rethinking Schools
Book Author: Traci Huahn
This picture book tells the true story of a fight for access to public education by an 8-year-old Chinese American girl, Mamie Tape, and her parents. There were no public schools for Chinese Americans in 1884 in San Francisco when Mamie tried to attend the white school and was turned away. That led her parents to go to court, first at the city level and then with the state. Victories were met with more setbacks.
When legally allowed to enroll, school authorities gave Mamie reasons she could not attend: The classes were full (they were not); then that she needed a vaccination by a non-Chinese doctor. During these delays, the school district built a second-rate Chinese American elementary school, later called the “Oriental School.” Mamie Tape sheds light on one fight for desegregation and quality education in the United States — including children and their families as organizers. It also demonstrates how white supremacists circumvent the law when a court rules for equitable access.
Young readers will realize that court rulings are just one part of any campaign for human rights.
Deborah Menkart is executive director at Teaching for Change.
Find more recommended books about this topic on our Chinese Americans, Asian Americans, Civil Rights Teaching: Desegregation, and Education booklists.
Mamie Tape Fights to Go to School by Traci Huahn
Published by Random House Children's Books on May 7, 2024
Genres: Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Chinese Americans, Civil Rights Movement, Education
Pages: 40
Reading Level: Early Childhood, Grade K
ISBN: 9780593644041
Meet Mamie Tape, 8-year-old Chinese American changemaker who fought for the right to go to school in San Francisco in the 1880s. Follow Mamie's brave steps and discover the poignant history of her California Supreme Court case Tape v. Hurley.
Mamie’s mom always reminded her a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So when Mamie wanted to go to school, even though Chinese children weren’t allowed, she took her first step and showed up anyway. When she was turned away at the schoolhouse door, she and her parents took another step: they sued the San Francisco school board…and won! Their case Tape v. Hurley made its way up to the California Supreme Court, which ruled that children of Chinese heritage had the right to a free public school education. But even then, Mamie’s fight wasn’t over.
Mamie Tape Fights to go to School is the story of one young changemaker’s brave steps on the long journey to end school segregation in California. It began with a single step.
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