Mary Tape

Mary Tape was born in Shanghai, China, in 1857, on an unknown date. Life in Shanghai in 1857 was vastly different from today, with its lack of infrastructure and population density to be dubbed a metropolis yet, the port city was heavily reliant on trade, and was influenced colonially by external superpowers, including the United States, United Kingdom, and France, following the first Opium War, and as they were undergoing the second one. Mary Tape's birth name is unknown. She lived in China for most of her childhood, until she was moved to San Francisco as an orphan by US missionaries at 11. Mary Tape was taken in by the Ladies’ Protection and Relief Society, where she resided until the age of 16. During her time at the Ladies’ Protection and Relief Society, Mary Tape learned English and took the name of her caretaker at the organization, Mary McGladery, for the purpose of assimilation. About 7 years into life in the U.S., in 1875, Mary McGladery met Chew Diep (also spelled as Jeu Dip, rendered Zhao Xia in pinyin), a prospector from Xinning County, Guangdong, who had come to California in 1864 at age 12. The family, housing four children, later converted to Presbyterianism, with Chew Diep taking on an anglicized, reversed version of his name Joseph C. Tape (Chew was originally his surname), and Mary matching his last name in marriage. Joseph had worked many jobs during his time in the US, including being a dray man and an interpreter for the Chinese Consulate. Their four children, Mamie, Frank, Emily, and Gertrude, were all born one after the other, with Mamie being the oldest. == Tape vs. Hurley ==

''Background on School Segregation in California: Late 1800's'' Education in San Francisco was heavily segregated in the 1800’s all the way to the mid 1900’s. One reason for this was the high anti-Chinese sentiment due to fear of Chinese workers taking up the small number of jobs available at the time. Following the Panic of 1873, anti-Chinese sentiment grew in areas such as San Francisco as a reaction to high levels of joblessness. These feelings grew into a larger movement that eventually manifested itself in part as the Chinese Exclusion act. These societal anti-immigrant and pro-segregation feelings spilled over into all aspects of life, including the emerging public education sector. In 1851, the first public school in San Francisco opened its doors only for white students. Schools for minority children would also open shortly after, with an African American school opening in 1854, and an Asian American school opening in 1859.). Tape v. Hurley When Mamie Tape was old enough to enter the education system in San Francisco, her parents, Mary and Joseph, wanted to send her to the Spring Valley Primary School. However, due to her Chinese heritage, they were turned away by principal Jennie Hurley. Had this case been brought to the supreme court earlier, the Tapes would have likely lost, since the legislation had been changed approximately five years prior to the instance. Before 1880, the legislation only clarified that education of a child was only completely open if the child was white. However, in 1880, the law was changed so that any child could enter the education system regardless of their race, unless they had a serious disease. Furthermore, it was Mamie Tapes 14th Amendment Right that she was treated fairly by the California education system as a part of the equal protection clause that defended Chinese American children. Thus, the court declared that principal Jennie Hurley had unfairly and unlawfully turned away Mary Tapes daughter due to her Chinese Heritage. Specifically, the judges involved in the case said, “The board of education has power "to make, establish, and enforce all necessary and proper rules and regulations not contrary to law," and none other.” In one specific letter, she says, “May you Mr. Moulder (superintendent of the Spring Valley Primary School district) never be persecuted like the way you persecuted little Mamie Tape…I will let the world see Sir what justice there is when it is govern(ed) by the race prejudice Men! Just because she is of the Chinese descend, not because she don't dress like you, because she does. Just because she is descended of Chinese parent: I guess she is more of a(n) American than a good many of you that is going to prevent her from being educated.” Mary Tapes writing in these letters and her resilience still inspired other Asian Americans and brought support to the fight against segregation despite the continued discrimination. It is of importance to note that the government was not fully in support of Chinese American inclusion either, despite supporting Mary Tapes original case. The same year that Mary Tape won her case, “the California State Assembly enacted Bill 268 to establish separate schools for children of “Mongolian or Chinese” descent and once those schools were established, those children would not be admitted into any other schools.” == Personal life and death ==

After the Tape v. Hurley case, the Tape children still went to a segregated school. However, lots of schools in California were becoming desegregated. As the Tape family moved around to Chinatown, the Tape Children, Mamie and Frank, attended a new Chinese primary school. Eventually the family moved to Berkeley where the children were able to attend a completely desegregated school. Even after the case happened it still caught the attention of news and many journalists. Mary Tape had other interests and skills she focused on afterwards. In an interview with the Tape family, they shared their interests and talents they had. Mary was a landscape painter and a photographer, but she was most skilled at being a telegrapher. She would often send messages to her husband when he was at work. Mary was a skilled artist and a first-class photographer. One of her children, Emily, was a violinist. Joseph Tape, her husband, was an interpreter for the Imperial Consulate of China in their city. The whole family was very full of skills and talents that many do not know about. Mary Tape died on October 9, 1934, two weeks after the death of her daughter Emily and five months before her husband died. Ultimately, she was successful in getting her children to desegregated schools and left a dent in the fight for desegregating schools. Around 70 years after her death came the Brown v. Board of Education in which racial segregation was finally ended. == References ==