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Lesson Plan, Video, Article :

Lesson Plan, Video, Article The Fight For School Desegregation by Asian Americans

  • Grade Level 6th-12th Grade
  • Time Period Late 1800s
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Introduction

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.

Learning Objectives
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.

Essential Questions

  • 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?