In the summer of 2011, we relocated from the big city of Miami, Florida to Crisp County-Cordele, a small rural town in Southwest Georgia. Cordele was our family’s gathering spot for reunions and other events that often bring many Southern Black families together. Like other communities in Southwest Georgia, Cordele had its share of socio-economic challenges. Despite what the statistics showed, in terms of the City’s low rankings in health, economics, education, and safety, there was great potential for our treasured City, known as the watermelon capitol of the world. Our founder, Dr. Alicia Ritchey, was set on helping change the narrative about her mother’s beloved hometown, and in 2013, she launched indigoLife™ Magazine, an upscale publication that featured what we call “Black Life Treasures.” She discovered countless locals, who, with little recognition, were working for the betterment of the City. The consistent sharing of positive inspiring stories surrounding the lives of these ‘Treasures’ helped to reshape perspectives regarding our local Black community. In 2014, indigoLife™ Communications, Inc. was formed as a business entity.
Since 2015, indigoLife™ has expanded from its initial concentration as a media outlet to include an annual indigoLife™ Women’s Empowerment & Cultural Expo (WECE), attracting women from across the U.S. & abroad. This event allowed us to expand our efforts to empower our nation’s most predominant, most under-utilized, and most undervalued human resource: women.
In 2020, during the global pandemic, indigoLife™ pivoted to a virtual business model. As a result, we have been fortunate to reach and impact an even larger international consumer base and corporate clientele, adding training, consulting, and management to our portfolio of services. In alignment with our inclusive community building brand, indigoLife™ assists other businesses and organizations design programs, services, and events that model diversity, equity, and inclusion in service to African Americans and other marginalized groups.