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Urban Legacy Lands Initiative announced May 10 the nonprofit is changing its name to BlackLight and expanding to work into more historically Black Indianapolis neighborhoods.

Founded after a battle in 2020 against a proposed $70-million apartment complex on Indiana Avenue, the nonprofit’s primary focus has been on the avenue.

Now, as BlackLight, the organization said it will work to preserve the heritage of Black people and Black communities in other neighborhoods — including Haughville, Riverside, Martindale-Brightwood and Norwood.

BlackLight also plans to expand its reach through research and publishing work done in Black communities on cultural heritage, land use and design, and economic development.

Eventually, the organization’s goal is to grow across the state, the Midwest region and the country.

Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers economics. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick.

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Urban Legacy Lands Initiative rebranding as BlackLight

by Tyler Fenwick, Mirror Indy
May 10, 2024

<h1>Urban Legacy Lands Initiative rebranding as BlackLight</h1> <p class="byline">by Tyler Fenwick, Mirror Indy <br />May 10, 2024</p> <p>Urban Legacy Lands Initiative announced May 10 the nonprofit is changing its name to <a href="https://blacklightindy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BlackLight</a> and expanding to work into more historically Black Indianapolis neighborhoods.</p> <p>Founded after a <a href="https://www.indystar.com/story/news/real-estate/2020/09/16/indianapolis-real-estate-indiana-avenue-apartment-development-criticized/5691025002/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">battle</a> in 2020 against a proposed $70-million apartment complex on Indiana Avenue, the nonprofit’s primary focus has been on the avenue.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img src="https://mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/blacklight_logo-1024x125.png" alt="" class="wp-image-21232" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Blacklight, formerly Urban Legacy Lands Initiative, unveiled a new name and logo May 10, 2024.</figcaption></figure> <p>Now, as BlackLight, the organization said it will work to preserve the heritage of Black people and Black communities in other neighborhoods — including Haughville, Riverside, Martindale-Brightwood and Norwood.</p> <p>BlackLight also plans to expand its reach through research and publishing work done in Black communities on cultural heritage, land use and design, and economic development.</p> <p>Eventually, the organization’s goal is to grow across the state, the Midwest region and the country.</p> <p><em>Mirror Indy reporter </em><a href="https://mirrorindy.org/author/tfenwick/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Tyler Fenwick</em></a><em> covers economics. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X </em><a href="https://twitter.com/Ty_Fenwick" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>@ty_fenwick</em></a><em>.</em></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org/indianapolis-nonprofit-urban-legacy-lands-initiative-black-culture-preservation-blacklight/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org&quot;&gt;Mirror Indy&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/mirrorindy.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-Mirror-Indy-square-logo-1.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;&lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://mirrorindy.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=21302&amp;amp;ga4=G-X0R0QW371R&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://mirrorindy.org/indianapolis-nonprofit-urban-legacy-lands-initiative-black-culture-preservation-blacklight/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/mirrorindy.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;</p> Copy to Clipboard

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