Indiana Black Expo Inc. is changing the name of a collective impact initiative created to eliminate barriers for young Black men. The rebranding effort is designed to combat marketing challenges and to avoid confusion among the community. The initiative previously named Your Life Matters will now be referred to as OpportunINDY.
“Our use of the popular empowerment slogan ‘Your Life Matters’ over the last year has come with challenges. The name often is confused with the national Black Lives Matter movement. Many local groups and organizations also label their events with the name, leaving many to believe that those efforts are ours,” said Tanya Bell, IBE president and CEO. “The name is trademarked by Radio One, which graciously gave us permission to use it during our data research and plan of action phase of the project. Now that we have transitioned into the implementation phase, we felt this was perfect timing to rebrand the initiative.”
“The new name OpportunINDY reflects the belief that together we all can ensure that Indianapolis is a place where everyone has the opportunity to succeed, particularly young Black men,” said Michael Twyman, executive director of OpportunINDY. “We have made many strides since the inception of this initiative. The infrastructure has been put in place with two new hires, the launch of a place-based initiative and a new website at opportunindy.com,” added Twyman.
