How can we ground our identity in truth and navigate rejection? How do we grow in resilience when enemies attack the essence of who we are and who God created us to be? The quest for acceptance and belonging can feel elusive.
Imagine walking with your child on her first day of school and the principal rejecting your daughter outright because of her race and ethnicity. Yet, in 1884 this is what eight-year-old Mamie Tape experienced when she tried to enter her local public school in San Francisco because she was of Chinese descent.
Mamie had played with these white students since she was a toddler; in fact, she had been born in California, near this school. But for no valid reason, Mamie was denied the right to a public education and was not allowed to study with her neighbors inside Spring Valley School.
Mamie Tape’s parents, Joseph and Mary Tape, stood up to the school officials who treated their daughter unjustly. In a powerful letter, Mrs. Tape reveals deeper issues at stake beyond Mamie’s right to attend her local public school. Her words still resonate today: “Didn’t God make us all!!! What right! have you have to bar my children out of the school because she is a chinese Decend?”[1]
When we experience rejection, we can acknowledge our pain, but focus on the foundational truth that our inherent worth and value come from being made in the image of God.
It is significant that the Tape family courageously fought against racial discrimination and won their case in the California Supreme Court. However, Mrs. Tape’s statement shows us that human rights and equality extend beyond a court victory. Legislation may change as we have seen the obstruction of justice in the outcomes of various civil rights cases throughout US history, but the imago Dei in each person remains constant and cannot be taken away from us.
This perspective frees us to love our neighbors as ourselves. When we know our true worth, then we can grow in resilience and show empathy and respect for others because we see them as valuable in God’s eyes.
Mrs. Tape also asks another rhetorical question, “Is it a disgrace to be Born a Chinese?”[2] The answer is clear—no, it is not. God loves diversity and created people with different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We can celebrate, accept, and appreciate the unique way God made each of us.
We see how God reveals this in creation—there isn’t just one kind of bird, but beauty is found in the variety of species. The same is true of different ethnicities and cultures. God breathes life into all human beings but designs each person with a unique DNA and background.
Despite the possibility of severe repercussions during the era of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, Mrs. Tape boldly and bravely raised her voice. Mrs. Tape pointed out how the school board’s unjust acts were inconsistent with their faith when they said that her daughter could only go to a segregated school: “I suppose, you all goes to churches on Sundays! Do you call that a Christian act to compell my little children to go so far to a school that is made in purpose for them.”[3]
In their attempt to protect their pupils from what they perceived as a negative influence, the school board neglected the more important principles of justice, mercy, and love (Micah 6:8; Matthew 23:23, NIV). In denying Chinese American students the right to go to their local public schools, the school district missed the opportunity for their students to expand their worldview through cross-cultural interactions.
God’s vision is to see diverse communities gather in unity. The key to true acceptance and belonging is knowing that God loves all of us and we are invited to fellowship and feast at God’s table together. There is a seat at the table open to each of us. This is where we will find genuine acceptance and lasting belonging that our hearts desire.
[1] Mary Tape, “A Chinese Mother’s Letter,” Daily Alta California, Volume 38, Number 12786, April 16, 1885, California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside, https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DAC18850416.2.3.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
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Mamie Takes a Stand, by Marie Chan, reveals the powerful story of Mamie Tape, an eight-year-old Chinese girl whose desire for knowledge and belonging led her family to fight for her right to attend public school in San Francisco. Colorfully illustrated and simply told, the book offers kids a glimpse into a largely unknown piece of American history and teaches them to treat others with empathy and respect.
Learn more about the book and how to purchase here.
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