‘A safe place to be’: Big GAY Market pushes ahead after split with Diversity Richmond

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- TransJam RVA is moving forward with its signature event, the "Big GAY Market," this weekend without one of its biggest partners, Diversity Richmond.

The Big GAY Market, a huge LGBTQ+friendly flea market event that was once hosted at Diversity Richmond, will now take place on Sunday, Sept. 14 at the Carillon near Byrd Park.

"Having to remove ourselves from Diversity really has kind of stunted that big visibility that we had," said TransJam RVA's executive director, Ander Waller.

Waller said the split follows sexual harassment and racism allegations against a Diversity Thrift employee that were brought to light by former employee Danni Worthy-Mays.

8News first reported on these allegations in June. Worthy-Mays accused a former supervisor of troubling behaviors like touching her inappropriately, sending her sexual text messages — despite his being married — and using racial slurs. She brought these concerns to Diversity Thrift leadership on May 6, but Worthy-Mays said they dismissed her.

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"It was well-documented via text," she said. "My emotions, everything that I was experiencing, was pushed off to the side."

In a second interview with 8News, Worthy-Mays explained that this treatment ultimately forced her to resign -- and it's left her struggling to recover.

"With all of the trauma that I’m experiencing in the aftermath of all of this, like -- I don’t have the mental energy," she said.

Worthy-Mays said she never felt safe enough to return, even when Diversity Richmond held a town hall in July.

"I did not feel safe enough to go to that," she said. "I really need a safe place to be."

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For her and many others, that safe space has been the Big GAY Market.

"It's specifically queer [and] trans-affirming," Waller said. "It is a Big GAY Market literally every single month. And it is big!"

Since parting ways with Diversity Richmond, Waller said turnout has been smaller -- and finding a venue large enough for all the vendors has been a challenge.

"We're really hoping that, at this space, we really have a literal redemption moment -- that we have to come up and people come back out," they said.

The Big GAY Market will take place Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Carillon in Byrd Park. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor for Big GAY Market, you can contact Waller via email at dayumjamrva@gmail.com. You can also visit TransJam RVA’s website for more information.