Nearly 100 people gathered Tuesday evening at Diversity Richmond for a town hall meeting marked by frustration and calls for accountability following allegations of weeks of racism and sexual harassment by a former employee.

The discussion, moderated by David Campt of The Dialogue Group, took place in the organization’s main hall and drew a mix of staff, Richmond residents and more than 40 supporters of Danni Worthy-Mays, who reported the allegations to management in May.

Worthy-Mays later went public with her allegations and quit her job as event assistant in June, following a month-long investigation by Diversity Richmond.

Diversity Richmond Executive Director Lacette Cross said the goal of the town hall was to promote accountability and gather community feedback on the organization’s response to the allegations and its broader work.

 The Rev. Dr. Lacette Cross, executive director of Diversity Richmond, speaks during a community town hall on Tuesday, July 15. The event was organized in response to employee Danni Worthy-Mays’ public accusations of sexual harassment and racism by a coworker.
 Photo by Julianne Tripp Hillian/Richmond Free Press  

“We wanted to hear the community and we did,” Cross said. “For those that showed up, they spoke their piece or they made their demand. They said what they wanted to say.” TransJam RVA, For the Fem in You and other local groups have criticized Diversity Richmond and rallied behind Worthy-Mays, who called out her former employer in a recording provided to her supporters and played during the discussion.

“Accountability? Y’all can’t even say, ‘We’re sorry and we messed up and here are the actions we’re taking so it doesn’t happen again,’” Worthy-Mays said. “Instead, you’re hosting a town hall to exert your power and control the narrative without even asking the person that was harmed to be there.”

Supporters of Worthy-Mays demonstrated their solidarity in several ways throughout the evening, including raising financial support and displaying signs and banners that criticized the organization’s actions and called for the firing of the accused.

Supporters also criticized holding the town hall in the same building where Worthy-Mays said the harassment occurred, the use of AI-powered tools to gather responses to discussion questions, and the moderators’ handling of differing views on Diversity Richmond’s actions.

Similar allegations were made against an employee in 2021, contributing to a strike by Diversity Richmond workers and leading to the resignation of President Cross, who spoke with community members after the event, said firing the accused is not possible without legal risk to the company. Other community town halls are planned, and Cross said the organization will seek more public input on the process in the coming weeks.

TransJam RVA, For the Fem in You, and Big GAY Market are planning a separate community discussion focused on creating safer spaces and what marginalized communities want from local organizations. The event will take place Wednesday, July 23, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Main Branch of the Richmond Public Library.