This tiny market in East Texas is made for LGBTQ+ people

Once a month, the LGBTQ+ community gathers in Tyler, TX to host a Rainbow Market to build community in the far-right corner of the country.

Queer vendors and community groups put up stands. Locals come to chat and shop. Even more, residents have a chance to interact with queer people and realize that the stereotypes they’ve been force-fed aren’t actually true.

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East Texas is MAGA country and chockful of far-right religious leaders. The Pope recently fired the local Catholic bishop, an extremely rare discipline, after a Vatican investigation into his leadership abilities and controversial and vicious Trump-style statements on social media.

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“The gay people are not trying to turn their kids or turn them. They want to live their life. They want the same things that anybody wants,” Summer Adams with the youth support group Alphabet Army told the Tyler Morning Telegraph. “They want to go to school, get married and have a family. They want to have a community and friends.”

The event is held on Saturdays.

“It’s every month, and we highlight LGBT vendors from our community and allies,” said Jay Hilburn, chair of the Tyler Area Gays. “Most of my vendors are local and repeat vendors who come monthly. We have everything from candy and jewelry to resources.”

Even better, the vendors give away love, and the groups model what community actually means.