Mary Tape
Mary Tape was a Chinese American activist and amateur photographer born in China in 1857, who immigrated to the United States around 1868. She is best known for her pivotal role in the landmark 1885 California Supreme Court case, Tape v. Hurley, which involved her daughter Mamie's denial of admission to a public school due to her Chinese heritage. This case highlighted the systemic racism and segregation faced by Chinese American children, as they were often barred from educational opportunities altogether. Tape and her husband, Joseph Tape, were committed to providing their children with a quality education, which fueled their legal battle against the discriminatory practices of the San Francisco school system.
The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of the Tape family, affirming that Chinese American children born in the U.S. were entitled to public education under the Constitution. Despite this victory, subsequent legislation established segregated schools for Chinese children, which Tape publicly opposed. In addition to her activism, she was known for her artistic talents, particularly in photography and painting, and she contributed to the cultural landscape of her community. Throughout her life, Tape's efforts against segregation and her artistic pursuits left a lasting impact, and her case set a significant precedent for future civil rights discussions in American education.
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Subject Terms
Mary Tape
Chinese-born activist and photographer
- Born: 1857
- Place of Birth: China
- Died: October 9, 1934
- Place of Death: Berkeley, California
Tape is best known for her role in the 1885 California Supreme Court case Tape v. Hurley, in which her eight-year-old daughter Mamie sued a San Francisco school that denied her admission due to her Chinese heritage. She also received local acclaim for her talent as an amateur photographer.
Areas of achievement: Activism, art
Early Life
Mary Tape was born in China in 1857 and immigrated to the United States by 1868, settling in San Francisco. She lived in Chinatown for a time before becoming a resident of the children’s home run by the Ladies’ Protection and Relief Society. While at the home, Tape met the institution’s matron, Mary McGladery, who taught her to speak and read English. Tape was so strongly influenced by McGladery that she adopted her teacher’s name as her own; her original name is not known.
In the spring of 1875, Mary met Joseph Tape (originally Jeu Dip), a deliveryman who had emigrated from China in 1869. They married on November 16, 1875, and later had four children. Joseph established a successful business that allowed the family to purchase a home as well as vacation and rental properties.
Life’s Work
The Tapes valued education, and as established residents of San Francisco, they wanted their children to be educated in the local public school system that they supported through taxes. Although California state law provided for segregated public education for nonwhite students, children of Chinese ancestry were denied even this between 1871 and 1885, reflecting the significant anti-Chinese sentiment of the period. Many Chinese American children received no education, while others had tutors, were homeschooled, or attended religious schools. In 1878, the Chinese community in California petitioned the state legislature for public education opportunities, but the petition was rejected.
When their eldest daughter, Mamie, was refused admittance to the local public school because of her Chinese heritage, the Tapes first enlisted the Chinese consulate to argue on their behalf. In response, the superintendent of San Francisco schools cited the California Constitution, which referred to the Chinese as “dangerous to the well-being of the state,” as justification for barring Mamie and other Chinese American children from enrolling. The Tapes then sued the principal of the Spring Valley School, Jennie Hurley, and the San Francisco Board of Education. In March 1885, the Supreme Court of California ruled in Tape v. Hurley that Chinese American children born in the United States and residing within a public school district were guaranteed the right to a public school education by both the US Constitution and California law.
Following this decision, the California legislature passed a law that allowed the establishment of segregated schools for Chinese children and prohibited students from attending any other public school when a Chinese school was available. Tape wrote a strongly worded letter to the board of education protesting this injustice and pledging that her own children would never attend a segregated school. Despite her pledge, Tape eventually sent her eldest children to the newly established Chinese school. Early in the 1890s, Tape moved with her family to Berkeley, California, where her children were able to attend nonsegregated schools.
While living in Berkeley, Tape, a skilled amateur photographer, became known for developing her own photographs and creating slides for use with a magic lantern, an early image-projecting device. She received a great deal of attention for her artistic talent and knowledge of chemicals and darkroom principles, though many of the reports on her work focused on the fact that she was a Chinese woman participating in an activity dominated by Caucasian men. Tape also created paintings and decorative dishes, some of which appeared in exhibits decades after her death, and learned to send telegraph messages.
Significance
Tape played a significant role in the movement against school segregation, establishing in Tape v. Hurley a precedent that continued to be referenced in cases of discrimination. Though Chinese American children remained segregated in some California communities into the 1930s, the process of school segregation ultimately came to an end nationwide following the 1954 Supreme Court case Brownv. Board of Education.
Bibliography
Kuo, Joyce. “Excluded, Segregated, and Forgotten: A Historical View of the Discrimination against Chinese Americans in Public Schools.” Chinese America: History and Perspectives (2000): 32–48. Print.
Ngai, Mae. The Lucky Ones: One Family and the Extraordinary Invention of Chinese America. Boston: Houghton, 2010. Print.
Ryerson, Jade. "Mary Tape." US National Park Service, 2 June 2021, www.nps.gov/people/mary-tape.htm. Accessed 21 Aug. 2024.
Thomas, Heather. "Before Brown v. Board of Education, There Was Tape v. Hurley." US Library of Congress Blog, 5 May 2021, blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2021/05/before-brown-v-education-there-was-tape-v-hurley/. Accessed 21 Aug. 2024.
Thompson, Daniella. The Tapes of Russell Street: An Accomplished Family of School Desegregating Pioneers. Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association, 30 Apr. 2004. Web. 7 Mar. 2012.