The film profiles the little-known story of Chinese immigrants Joseph and Mary Tape, who tried to enroll their 8-year-old U.S.-born daughter in San Francisco's all-white Spring Valley School in September 1884. The principal refused to admit Mamie Tape citing school board policy barring Chinese children from attending the city’s public schools. The Tape family sued the principal and took the case to the California Supreme Court in 1885. School officials defended their position by arguing that the California constitution declared Chinese to be “dangerous to the well-being of the state,” and thus the city had no obligation to educate Chinese students. The court decided in favor of the Tape family, creating one of the pioneering decisions in the fight for equality in education.Three Chinese laborers work on a railroad in California around the 1890s.
The first picture and its caption give us a very detailed and in-depth story of how the struggles were for the Chinese families. Although this is just one story we can imagine how many people must have suffered from a similar situation. Even though the daughter of this family was born in the U.S we see that they were not done justice by the institutions. However, it’s great that the court had then decided in favor of the Tape family because it was definitely one of the significant and eye-opening actions towards equality.
In the next picture we see Chinese people working hard to earn a living while a white person right beside them stands all relaxed. It shows how the immigrants had to work hard while the fruits of their labor was enjoyed by men of wealth and power. Even though the dream of the immigrants had been to come to the land of opportunities, it was not an easy way for them.
The first picture and its caption give us a very detailed and in-depth story of how the struggles were for the Chinese families. Although this is just one story we can imagine how many people must have suffered from a similar situation. Even though the daughter of this family was born in the U.S we see that they were not done justice by the institutions. However, it’s great that the court had then decided in favor of the Tape family because it was definitely one of the significant and eye-opening actions towards equality.
In the next picture we see Chinese people working hard to earn a living while a white person right beside them stands all relaxed. It shows how the immigrants had to work hard while the fruits of their labor was enjoyed by men of wealth and power. Even though the dream of the immigrants had been to come to the land of opportunities, it was not an easy way for them.