EDUCATION
didn’t know we were colonized and that’s why we speak
Spanish. All of this was like putting the missing pieces to
the puzzle which is who I am.”
He then built up the courage to reclaim the name
Johanis: “I was 21 years old. Now I’m 23 and finding out
the true meaning — that it means ‘beloved one,’ and that’s
why my mom named me that.”
After attending LCC for a few years, Tadeo decided to
take a break and became a teaching assistant at Cascade
Middle School. He never saw himself as a teacher, but
after a while he knew that he wanted to do more for the
students. So began CityWide MEChA.
That summer Tadeo used his entire last paycheck from
Cascade to self-fund his own summer program. “We
didn’t have permission from the University of Oregon or
anything. It wasn’t like they knew what was going on, but
I had a colleague that gave me a room. That’s all I needed,”
Tadeo says. He and his guest speakers spent the summer
teaching ethnic studies to the 25 students who attended the
program.
He spent two hours each morning personally driving
each student to the classroom.
After seeing his work at his summer program, CALC
hired Tadeo as a community organizer. Recently, Tadeo
was able to connect 15 local Latino-owned businesses
and is working with them to set aside money to help
Springfield and Eugene’s Latino communities.
Tadeo puts everything he can from his CALC paycheck
JOHANIS TADEO AND CITYWIDE MECHA STUDENTS MAKE THE SIGN
OF THE PHOENIX, A SYMBOL OF REBIRTH
A STUDENT'S SKETCHES
FOR A NEW MURAL
into his City Wide MEChA program, but he says it’s not
enough. The program has the Brethren facility only until
June, “and then it gets demolished,” he says. Tadeo hopes
a new location can be found.
City Wide MEChA will be doing a podcast, inviting
local politicians, business owners and other prominent
community members to talk about the issues that their
community faces. It's also hosting a fundraising film
screening of "The Golden Dream" 6 pm Friday, Feb. 24 at
1072 Main Street in Springfield. Admission is $5.
“This all started from Thurston students who contacted
me who are all powerful young women who wanted to
see something different within their school and their
community,” Tadeo says.
Find out more about City-Wide MEChA at facebook.com/
CityWideMEChA201 or email citywidemecha@gmail.com.
UO Center for the Study of Women in Society presents
6th annual CSWS Northwest Women Writers Symposium
WO M E N & WO R K
STORIES OF THE GREAT MIGRATION
featuring Ayana Mathis
Friday, March 3, 2017
KEYNOTE & BOOKSIGNING
6 pm – 8 pm
Downtown Eugene Public Library
100 W. 10th, Eugene, OR 97401
PANEL DISCUSSION
3 pm – 4:30 pm (light reception 2:30 pm)
Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
Ford Lecture Hall, 1430 Johnson Lane
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403
Ayana Mathis will read selections from The
Twelve Tribes of Hattie, with comments by:
• Marjorie Celona, UO Creative Writing
• Sharon Luk, UO English Department
• Mo Young, Equity & Access Coordinator, Lane County
• Michelle McKinley, Director, CSWS
Ayana Mathis’s novel, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, was a New York
Times Bestseller, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, a
Boston Globe Best Book of the Year, an NPR Best Books of 2013,
and was chosen by Oprah Winfrey as the second selection for
Oprah’s Book Club 2.0.
Full Schedule: csws.uoregon.edu/nwws2017/
Info: 541-346-5015
CENTER FOR THE STUDY
OF WOMEN IN SOCIETY
The University of Oregon is an EO/AA/ADA Institution Committed to Cultural Diversity.
eugeneweekly.com • February 23, 2017
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