Marie Chan is the author of the new children's picture book Mamie Takes a Stand: A Chinese American Girl's Fight for School Rights. It focuses on Mamie Tape, who fought to attend public school in San Francisco in the 1880s. A former teacher, Chan lives in California.
Q: What inspired you to write Mamie Takes a Stand?
A: My inspiration for Mamie Takes a Stand came after reading a different children's biography to my daughter when she was in kindergarten.
She had selected an e-book, Separate is Never Equal, by Duncan Tonatiuh, for me to read aloud to her. The title reminded me of the US Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education (1954), that led to the desegregation of public schools.
However, this book taught me that a predecessor to the Brown v. Board of Education case was a young girl named Sylvia Mendez, whose family helped to integrate schools in California in 1947.
I couldn't believe that I never knew about separate Mexican schools and segregation in Orange County, where I had spent my childhood. Why was I never taught this history in school and why had I only learned this in 2020 from a picture book?
I had always loved diverse books and had intentionally introduced multicultural children's literature to my students, who came from immigrant families.
This biography piqued my interest in researching school integration cases in California, which eventually led me to learn that Chinese Americans experienced discrimination in California public schools through Mamie Tape's story and the Tape v. Hurley case.
I decided the best format to introduce Mamie Tape would be through a picture book biography because it could be succinct, visually appealing, and compelling.
Busy parents don't often have the time to read thick academic history books, but are willing to spend 15-20 minutes reading aloud a bedtime story to their children. Therefore, I thought writing a children's book would make Mamie's story more accessible if it was told in a shorter format.
Q: How did you research Mamie Tape’s life, and what did you learn that especially surprised you?
A: It takes a village to write a book, and I certainly could not have written Mamie Takes a Stand without the help of historians, professors, archivists, and librarians.
I asked elders and friends, who spoke different Chinese dialects (i.e., Hoisan-wa/Toisanese, Mandarin, and Cantonese), to help me understand and pronounce transliterations of Chinese words in the book. I thought it was important to highlight the various Chinese dialects and show the diversity of Chinese heritage languages.
The 1906 earthquake in San Francisco destroyed many buildings, so some structures in Mamie's neighborhood were renamed, remodeled, or moved to other parts of the city.
Therefore, I had to take additional time to parse through countless photographs of the Bay Area to decipher whether images of schools and homes were built before or after the earthquake, in order to accurately describe the setting.
Furthermore, I began my research during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, so I was not able to travel to Northern California and look at the actual locations on site until later.
Using archival maps was helpful, but I am also grateful that one of my writing critique partners had once lived very close to the street where Mamie lived, so I could ask her about the neighborhood.
I think oral histories are very important and precious. Listening to a rare recording of Mamie Tape from 1972 when Mamie was almost 96 years old helped me understand her character better, such as her kindness and confidence.
Also, meeting the Tape family members was such a delightful surprise. They have been so supportive in generously sharing their family photos and history.
One of my favorite memories was presenting with Mamie Tape's great-granddaughter at the Portland Chinatown Museum and visiting the home where Mamie once lived. I feel like they have treated me like family. It has made this a very special journey beyond writing a book.
I didn't realize how emotionally hard it would be to immerse myself in this research. I was grieved to see that some of the same scapegoating and rhetoric of blaming Asian Americans that I was reading in archival newspapers during the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act in Mamie's time was being reiterated in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Therefore, I think it is important to give yourself space to take breaks when writing about these difficult topics and surround yourself with a supportive community as you process your research.
Q: What do you think Sian James’s illustrations add to the book?
A: I am grateful that my editor and publisher valued cultural authenticity and recommended Sian James, an illustrator from Hong Kong (now living in the UK), who understood Chinese culture. and studied archaeology.
I love how Sian took such care in creating the artwork for Mamie Takes a Stand. Sian added her own Chinese words, referred to historic images to draw Mamie's many stylish outfits, revised details to make the backgrounds more accurate, and captured the different emotions of the characters in a way that draws the reader into the story and helps the reader connect to what Mamie was feeling.
Sian did an amazing job incorporating red and gold (symbolic colors in Chinese culture) on the book cover.
One of my favorite illustrations is the portrait she drew of Sylvia Mendez, Ruby Bridges, Linda Brown, and Mamie Tape, that shows how our histories are interwoven and also portrays unity and solidarity. Truly, Sian's illustrations are more beautiful than I could have asked for or imagined!
Q: Given that the rights of immigrants in this country are in the news today, what do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: I hope readers would grow in empathy, respect, and compassion for others as they read Mamie Takes a Stand and walk in Mamie's shoes. When readers connect to a character and can relate to an individual story, it can move their hearts in a powerful way that changes their perspective about how they view those who may be different from them.
Interestingly, in 2025, we are referring to these cases from the 1800s again that involve discussions about the Fourteenth Amendment and birthright citizenship.
Despite the difficult challenges that the Tape family faced during the time of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, I find it notable that the justices in the Tape v. Hurley case unanimously agreed that it was plainly shown in the law that Mamie, being native-born, had the rights of American citizenship.
Therefore, I think it is important for readers to learn from history as these decisions directly impact families today.
It has given me great joy when I hear how readers have seen themselves reflected in the pages of my book. I want readers to know that they are treasured and loved. They don't need to be ashamed of their cultural heritage; instead, I hope we can celebrate and affirm the unique way each person is made in the image of God.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Currently, I am working on a picture book that focuses on the theme of finding beauty in brokenness, Asian art forms, and sustainability. I am also writing a graphic novel, which is a new genre for me, but has been fun to write because the story encompasses Asian American culture, mystery, and humor.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I enjoyed writing the Parent and Educator Resource Guide that accompanies Mamie Takes a Stand. I felt like I was writing a second book! I included many primary sources and historic photographs that the Tape family shared with me.
You can access the digital download of my extensive Parent and Educator Guide that includes engaging, multisensory, cross-curricular activities to use with Mamie Takes a Stand at mariechan.com/books.
Thank you for taking the time to do this interview!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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