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Intisar Abioto photographs Rita and Anita Bryant, 51-year-old twins, on North Killingsworth Street.

(Casey Parks/The Oregonian)

A blog featuring photographs of Portland’s African Americans residents will expand this year to include video and portraits of black Portland natives who have moved away.

Last week, photographer Intisar Abioto launched

to pay for the expansion of her blog The Black Portlanders. She’s working to raise $15,000 this month through Indiegogo.

Abioto, 27, moved to Portland from Memphis three years ago. She created

last February as a way to connect Portland’s nearly 37,000 African Americans. She’s posted hundreds of portraits since then, and thousands of fans have shared her work.

This past winter, the blog went on temporary hiatus after Abioto’s computer died. She’s hoping to use money from the campaign to buy a new computer and hard drives. She’s also planning to widen the scope of

.

We caught up with Abioto to talk about the next stages of The Black Portlanders. The following is a condensed interview:

What has the past year been like for you?

The past year has been a huge learning experience. I think from talking to so many people, both the people I photographed and all the people I’ve met through doing this project, it feels like a brain overload. I feel like the more you learn about one place, the more you know find out there is to know. I’ve learned about the history of Portland and black people here, but I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface. It’s just so rich and deep. I just feel so thankful really to all the people who have assisted me in different ways.

One reason you created the blog is you felt disconnected from the African American community here. Do you feel more connected now?

I definitely feel more connected. I feel more connected to Portland as a whole. I’ve met so many people in the black community, but I’ve also met so many thinkers and creatives who care. I was able to connect to the city in my own way through the things that I love.

What lessons have you learned in producing The Black Portlanders?

I think a lot about the approach that I use, how I am telling the stories. Until now, it’s just been portraits with the captions. I realize I am one person in Portland. As a storyteller, there’s a power there. But it’s a big responsibility to attempt to tell someone’s story as it is. You want to tell it correctly. It takes a lot of attention and thought. I’m just continuing to learn how to be a better storyteller. I’m not black Portlanders. I’m a Portlander. I’ve learned to approach people with responsibility and curiosity.

Tell me about the next steps. Why did you decide to begin incorporating video?

I wanted to expand the format of the stories. There are so many stories of who black Portlanders are. There’s the current format of the portrait, which I love and want to continue doing and getting better at. But I would like to know -- and people have told me they want to know -- more about who these people are, their pasts and their intent for the future. I think it’s another window for understanding who black Portlanders are.

You're also planning to travel to document the experiences of black Portlanders who have moved away. Why is that an important part of the work?

I’ve traveled internationally documenting people in the African diaspora in Senegal, Jamaica and Djibouti and across the US. When I think about black Portlanders, I think about them within the frame of the world, not just within this specific landscape of Portland and Oregon. Not only were black people excluded from moving to Oregon, but they were also secluded when they were here. I don’t think that the world knows about the journey of black Portlanders. Just thinking about Portlanders who left, who have gone on to do things in the world, be it Carrie Mae Weems or Esperanza Spalding, we have a host of people who have gone out into the world. It’s a bigger story here about how we came here, where we went, where we’re going. With the current popularity of Oregon on the world stage, the history of Portland isn’t in that branding. People don’t understand the unique journey of people of color in this place. It’s talked about as a white city. It’s called the whitest city in America. But people of color aren’t in that story. That’s another form of exclusion that takes after Oregon’s beginnings.

Have you talked to many black Portlanders who have moved away?

Some people have written me from inside and outside Portland, people who plan to move here and people who have moved away.

Do they have similar reasons for leaving?

That’s a question I want to find out, that I don’t know yet. That’s the research question: why they left, what they did when they left, what their experiences are. I have talked to Portlanders who have left for a long period of time about how their perspectives on the world changed by going somewhere where there was greater cultural diversity, more people of African descent.

What's been one of your most memorable encounters since starting the blog?

It’s not always about taking the photograph. It’s about talking to people and being able to say hello. One memorable time was on Killingsworth. There was a lady who was walking. She looked kind of frail, kind of like an elder. She was carrying this tiny dog. I approached her. She had a speckled gray, curly ‘fro that was short. She told me that she wasn’t the best at taking photographs. She said she would rather not be photographed. I’m always open to what people say, whether it’s yes or no. I always end saying thank you. I began to walk away. She turned back to me and said she got what I was doing, that it was important. It’s not about the photograph. The picture is the tool for people to be able to see each other, to acknowledge each other. The goal is people being seen and feeling a connection to each other. That portrait is not on the blog, but I can tell you about her. That was an important moment for me because it was a moment of connection, of acknowledgment. Those are the moments I love the most.

Intisar Abioto will host a launch party for the campaign Saturday at Glyph Cafe & Arts Space, 804 NW Couch Street, at 7 p.m.

-- Casey Parks