Maie Tape's Letter Analysis

Mary and Joseph Tape were immigrants from China who now resided in the U.S. with their daughter Mamie. Despite Mamie’s clear citizenship, being born in the U.S., she was denied education at the local public school. School board members refused to place the children of Chinese immigrants within the public school system and any faculty who disobeyed this policy would be removed from their position. So, Mary and Joseph took it upon themselves to fight this prejudice with a letter addressed to the Board of Education as well as the current school superintendent. The Tape’s letter eventually found its way to the Superior Court of San Francisco, who ruled that the prejudice taken up against Mamie Tape was, in fact, unconstitutional. Following the
ruling, the board made an appeal, but the decision of the Superior Court held. However, Mamie was never able to attend her local public school. Instead, she received her education at a separate school in Chinatown amongst the other Chinese decedents. This letter is significant because it shows that even twenty years following the Civil War, discrimination was still a rampant problem in the U.S.
Like Mamie’s situation, children of immigrants from all countries suffered the same consequences, even despite being born in America. Caucasians still believed themselves a superior race and distanced themselves from any acts to reintegrate diverse peoples into society. And even despite the court’s ruling, we see that there were clearly no consequences admitted to the board for sending Mamie to a school specifically for “Mongolian” children. Mary’s letter gives us a better understanding of how caucasians used their authority to justify unconstitutional acts of discrimination. Within the letter, she mentions that it is not because of Mamie’s appearance that she cannot attend public school, but by knowing she is of Chinese decent it makes her inadequate. At the time, America may have appeared to be heading towards acceptance, but instances like this only prove white Americans were still unwillingly to accept people of color. Mary then briefly brings the religious doings of the board into play, reminding these men that we are all God’s creation. Even though the religious remarks are cut short I believe they make this letter all the more important. This is something the church still struggles with today, people who claim to be Christian attend church on Sundays and then proceed to live their lives in whatever way they choose the
other six days of the week. In sum, Mary’s letter exposes the lack of accountability, in multiple areas, in which caucasians were held too during this time in American history.