local organization works to revitalize Indy neighborhoods

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A local organization announces ambitious plans to enhance and preserve the rich heritage of Black communities in Indianapolis.

BlackLight, a nonprofit based in Indianapolis, says they are Indiana’s only Cultural Heritage Development Corporation.

Michael Twyman serves as the interim executive director who helped rebrand BlackLight, the group previously known as Urban Legacy Lands Initiative. He is dedicated to inclusivity and heritage preservation.

“What is not obvious to the naked eye can be shown and highlighted when you put BlackLight into it so the idea of being able to not only celebrate Black spaces and places but to be able to provide hope and opportunity,” Twyman explained.

According to a news release, “BlackLight’s newly branded entity is set to become a beacon of hope and progress, focusing on safeguarding historical locals and fostering growth and opportunity through educational initiatives, entrepreneurship, and workforce development in historically Black neighborhoods.”

“We developed an organization that is focused on heritage, looking at neighborhoods and communities in ways that allow them to be not only thriving but allows them to have all the things that are a part of being in a community that is not only safe but honors history and really leans into the lived experience of the residence.”

If you would like to get more information about how to help revitalize areas of Indianapolis, click here.