Mary Tape

Mary Tape (1857-1934) was a desegregation activist. Tape fought for equal education. She wanted Chinese American students to study at schools with white students.

Mary Tape was born in China. In 1868, Tape came to San Francisco. She was an orphan. The Ladies’ Protection and Relief Society helped her. She named herself "Mary McGladery."^[1] The Society taught her the English language and how to live in the United States. She married Joseph Tape. They had four children.^[2] Tape taught her children to act like white Americans.

Tape and her family lived in the city of San Francisco, California, USA. She wanted her oldest child to study at the public school. The school said only white children could be students. It would not accept Chinese American students. Tape took the school to court. She fought for equal education. The Tape family lost in court. The children went to special Chinese American schools. Later, the family moved to Berkeley, California where they had more rights.

Tape was also known for having a middle-class family that acted more stereotypically American than other Chinese-American families at the time. She changed the way that many people thought of Chinese-American families at the time, and opened a gateway for people of her race to be more accepted in their society. She also earned awards for her photography and was a skilful telegrapher. Mary Tape died of old age in 1934, five months before her husband.