Swap Meet Vendors: An Exploration of Neglected Voices

COVID-19 has without a doubt disproportionately impacted small businesses and businesses owned by members of marginalized communities; however, much of the literature that exists on this sector fails to account for the impact of the pandemic on swap meet vendors. Through first-hand interviews with seven Southern California swap meet vendors, this op-ed highlights the narratives and experiences of undocumented vendors, vendors of color, female vendors, and non-native English vendors to exemplify the drastic challenges that these people have overcome in the past year and continue to face in light of the gradual reopening of swap meets. At large, this research found that these individuals were some of the hardest hit economically, emotionally, and physically.