Grade: 7-12Subject:
English Language Arts, U.S. History, World History
Number of Activities: 2
This lesson will cover the story of the Tape family, Chinese immigrants and their American-born children residing in San Francisco, California. Joseph and Mary Tape attempted to enroll their daughter, Mamie, at Spring Valley Primary, an all-white school, and were denied based on their race. Students will learn about the Tape family, Joseph and Mary’s California Supreme Court case, Tape v. Hurley (1885), and the greater connections their story lent itself to anti-Asian sentiment in the United States at that time and fight for school desegregation.
Students will:
- Learn about the effects of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 on Chinese people living in the United States and the history of school segregation in San Francisco.
- Analyze the broader history of anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States as a result of the Chinese Exclusion Act and also connect interracial injustices within the scope of school segregation.
Following the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which prohibited Chinese laborers from immigrating to the U.S., Chinese Americans were racially excluded in other ways. In California, the Tape family legally challenged the San Francisco Board of Education because their daughter was denied access to public education. This led to the 1885 landmark California Supreme Court case,
Tape v. Hurley, one of the earliest
civil rights decisions against racist policies that segregated students on the basis of race. This occurred 69 years before the U.S. Supreme Court deemed school
segregation unconstitutional in
Brown v. Board of Education (1954).
Joseph and Mary Tape were Chinese immigrants who came to California in the 1860s. When Mary was an orphan, the Ladies’ Protection and Relief Society provided her with housing and taught her English. Joseph worked as a houseboy and a dairyman in his early years, and became a successful broker. They considered themselves as American as the native-born Americans they lived amongst in San Francisco and believed their American-born daughter, Mamie should be allowed to attend Spring Valley Primary, an all-white school. The principal Jenny Hurley denied Mamie enrollment into Spring Valley because of her race. In response to this discrimination, the Tapes sued Hurley, and took it to the California Supreme Court.
School officials argued that the California Constitution stated that the Chinese were “dangerous to the well-being of the state,” and thus anyone of Chinese descent should not be admitted to San Francisco public schools. The California Supreme Court ruled in its decision that the 14th Amendment protected the rights of citizens and Mamie, a U.S. citizen, could not be denied the opportunity to attend school. They did however strongly hint that segregated schools were not against the law, which led the San Francisco Board of Education to do just that - build separate schools for Chinese students. Later that year, the Tapes had no choice but to enroll their children at the Chinese Primary School, even though they continued to fight for Mamie’s right to attend an integrated school.
Tape v. Hurley ultimately did not win Mamie Tape the ability to attend Spring Valley Primary School or create an integrated school system that allowed all students to equitably access education regardless of race. Nevertheless, this is an important
civil rights decision. Many years later, federal court case
Mendez v. Westminster (1947), and U.S. Supreme Court case
Brown v. Board of Education (1954), expanded on the
Tape v. Hurley decision that all students should have access to schooling by ruling school segregation on the basis of race as unconstitutional.
- Civil Rights: a set of fundamental rights for everyone, including equal treatment under the law, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or other personal characteristics
- Segregation: legally separating people by race or ethnicity in an established community within various services and public spaces depending on the law
- Xenophobia: fear and hatred towards a person or group of people from a foreign country
- Why was Mamie Tape unable to enroll at a San Francisco public school?
- How were racist policies a factor in the education of Chinese American students? Explain any parallels between Mamie Tape and students of color today.
- Why do you think Mary Tape was dissatisfied with the San Francisco Board of Education’s decision to create a Chinese Primary School for Mamie to attend?
Activity 1:
Analyzing a Primary Source - Mary Tape’s Letter to the San Francisco Board of Education
Read the following excerpt of Mary Tape’s letter with students, excerpted from the "Fight Against School Segregation” film clip. Citation: Mary Tape, An Outspoken Woman,
OAH Magazine of History, Volume 15, Issue 2, Winter 2001, Pages 17–19,
https://doi.org/10.1093/maghis/15.2.17. Inform them that grammar and writing standards were different in the 1800s and to look for the meaning behind her words when analyzing Tape’s letter.
“To the Board of Education - Dear Sirs: I see that you are going to make all sorts of excuses to keep my child out of the Public schools. Dear sirs, Will you please to tell me! Is it a disgrace to be Born a Chinese! Didn’t God make us all!!! What right have you to bar my children out of the school because she is a chinese Descend...I will let the world see Sir What justice there is When it is govern by the Race prejudice men! just because she is of the Chinese descend, not because she doesn’t dress like you because she does. just because she is descended of Chinese parents I guess she is more of a American than a good many of you that is going to prevent her being Educated.” - Mrs. M. Tape, April 16, 1885.
Tell students to annotate the letter using a chosen strategy by the teacher.
Pair student up and have them answer the following questions:
- How does Mary Tape’s letter reveal the anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States during the 1880s? Cite evidence from her letter.
- How does Mary Tape’s letter show Mary Tape’s courage and steadfastness and represent resistance and activism? Cite evidence from her letter.
Have students share what they discussed and continue the discussion as an entire class.
Activity 2: Research School Desegregation Cases
Tell students that they will analyze how other legal cases against school segregation relate to Tape v. Hurley . They will conduct research on the following legal cases:
Other legal cases on school segregation that students can also research are: Massachusetts Supreme Court case Roberts v. City of Boston (1849) and U.S. Supreme Court case Lum v. Rice (1927).
Have a class discussion on the following:
- What are the similarities and differences between Tape v. Hurley (1885), Mendez v. Westminster (1947), Brown v. Board of Education (1954), and any other legal cases researched?
- Explain what role each of the three cases (Tape v. Hurley, Mendez v. Westminster, and Brown v. Board of Education) play in desegregating schools? How were these cases demanding equality and social justice for all Americans?
- What are some current issues in regards to education equity in the United States?
“Chinese Exclusion Act (1882).” Our Documents - Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), “We Have Always Lived as Americans.” Chinese American: Exclusion/Inclusion – New York Historical Society.
California Common Core Standards Addressed
RI: Reading Standards for Informational Text 7-12:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.1
Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.2
Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.6
a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.1
Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.2
Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.6
Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.2
Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.6
Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.1
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.2
Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.6
Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text.
ELA-Literacy.SL (Speaking and Listening):
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.1
Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1
Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
RH (Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies):
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.6
Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.6
Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.6
Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning, and evidence.