We Will Not Be Removed
Alan Wieder
Published by the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission Foreword by Mitchell S. Jackson
“This is the story of a Portland park and a community that refuses to be “removed.” In spite of being displaced, this community survives. Birthdays are celebrated, tragedy is commemorated, and, most important, people who grew up in the neighborhood, as well as their offspring, connect in the park each day. I’ve been privileged to try to capture their spirit through pictures for almost five years. Individuals have welcomed me into their lives.” —Alan Wieder, from the Introduction
During the latter half of the twentieth century, sections of North and Northeast Portland experienced significant gentrification. Many people—predominantly the Black population, whose families had lived there for generations—were pushed out of their neighborhoods to distant corners of the city. Despite such dislocations, some refused to give up their connection to what had historically been their neighborhood park. They travel back to the neighborhood daily to spend time at a park that has come to represent family and community.
From 2020 to 2024 Alan Wieder visited the King School Park almost every day, photographing and interviewing the individuals who regularly frequent the park. We Will Not Be Removed documents this community, which, against all odds, continues to persevere. Pulitzer Prize–winning author Mitchell Jackson, who grew up in the King Park neighborhood, pens the foreword, providing a sense of how these blocks in North Portland mattered to those who lived there. With poignant quotations captured from the interviews and Wieder’s seventy black-and-white photographs, We Will Not Be Removed is a powerful testimony to the lasting bonds of community.
About the author
Alan Wieder is a photographer and oral historian. He is the author of several books including Ruth First and Joe Slovo in the War Against Apartheid and Studs Terkel: Politics, Culture, but Mostly Conversation. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina.
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“Follow any human being for three minutes into their lived life and every label, every stereotype, and every one-dimensional caricature is blown to bits. A single story is dangerous to the pigeonholed to be sure—the menacing young man on the corner, the savage ex-con—but it’s also treacherous to the observer whose totalizing judgments cut them off from the richness of human possibility. The labels are lazy, the stereotypes are ignorant, and the mind dulls and nods off. Alan Wieder’s camera is in the service of wide-awakeness. Here we encounter three-dimensional human beings who deserve to be seen, and whose dazzling portraits and words invite us to see ourselves anew. The people of King School Park open us to a vivid and lively community we might have missed. They also invite us on an adventure of self-disclosure and self-discovery.” —Bill Ayers is an activist, teacher, author and host of the podcast “Under the Tree: A Seminar of Freedom.” His latest book is When Freedom Is the Question, Abolition Is the Answer.
“This volume contains beautiful, close portraits that reflect the friendship between the subjects and the photographer. Alan Wieder was an outsider who came poking around in the park with his camera and into the lives of the large ‘family’ that comes to King most days of the year. In the process, he has created a moving picture of love and home that means so much to each person photographed. The words of the people in the park add their insights and wisdoms. We, as viewers, are enriched to experience this unusual celebration of life and attachment.” —Harvey Stein is a photographer and teacher. He has published numerous books; the latest is his third book on Coney Island, Coney Island People Fifty Years.
“Alan Wieder captures an occurrence that happens throughout the country in Black communities. Even around Portland there are epicenters where gathering and reunion ‘spots’ happen in other neighborhoods. Originally being a New Yorker, we had our ‘spots.’ A trip home wasn’t a trip without checking out the ‘spots.’ It was always a treat when someone we had not seen in a while showed up and talked about life away from the ‘spot.’ Sometimes it was just being brought up-to-date about life adventures. Most of the time it was just ‘chillin.’ Over the last sixty-plus years, my spots are gone, sadly, as are most of the people. Getting into Wieder’s book has made me realize that it’s been awhile since I have visited my ‘spots.’ Thanks Alan Wieder.” —Richard Brown is a Portland photographer, activist, and author of the memoir This Is Not For You: An Activist’s Journey of Resistance and Resilience
“We Will Not Be Removed is a powerful testament to the resilience of communities fighting for their place and their future. It reminds me of our struggles in Selma—not just for the right to vote, but for self-determination. Dr. King believed in a vision where people had the power to shape their own lives, and that fight continues today. This book serves as a visual archive of that struggle, capturing the spirit, strength, and courage of those who refuse to be displaced.” —Cleveland Sellers was a civil rights activist and one of the leaders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He was the author of The River of No Return: The Autobiography of a Black Militant and the Life and Death of SNCC.
