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 she was legally allowed to enroll, Mamie was given a series of reasons she could not attend, first the classes were full (they were not) and 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.”
This book sheds light on the reality of many fights for desegregation and quality education in the United States — including the role of children and their families as organizers and the countless ways that white supremacists circumvent the law when a court rules for equitable access. Children reading this book will realize that court rulings are just one part of any campaign for human rights. [Description by Rethinking Schools.]
ISBN: 9780593644027 | Crown Books for Young Readers
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