Mamie Tape Fights to Go to School: Based on a True Story

Written by Traci Huahn

*Featured in Rethinking School’s picks for social justice books

Meet Mamie Tape, 8-year-old Chinese American changemaker who fought for the right to go to school in San Francisco in the 1880s.

Mamie’s mom always reminded her a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Even though Chinese children weren’t allowed, Mamie took her first step and showed up anyway. When she was turned away at the schoolhouse door, she and her parents took another step: they sued the San Francisco school board…and won! Their case Tape v. Hurley made its way up to the California Supreme Court, which ruled that children of Chinese heritage had the right to a free public school education. But even then, Mamie’s fight wasn’t over. This is the story of one young changemaker’s brave steps on the long journey to end school segregation in California. It began with a single step.

Art direction: Jan Gerardi

Editor: Phoebe Yeh

Publisher: Crown / Penguin Random House, 2024