Source: Facebook
As people across the world cry “Black lives matter” in the aftermath of multiple police killings, it’s important to know that all Black lives matter, no matter gender or sexual orientation.
This Pride Month, activists have sadly had to remind people this after brutal footage showed a Black transgender woman getting beat by a group of Black men.
According to Out, Iyanna Dior was the Minnesota woman who was beaten in a video that went viral. The assault took place after a “fender bender,” according to social media reports. Some people said the crowd included anywhere from 15 to 30 cisgender attackers, mostly male. Meanwhile, various people nearby just stood around and watched. NewsOne will not embed the video, but it is has been widely spread across social media.
Dior said she was “ok” on her personal Facebook page and she presented some of her bruises. “I just need some time to process everything that’s going on,” she explained in a post. “Thanks to everyone reaching out making sure I’m ok. Imma talk real soon.”
Various people online are calling for justice and spreading awareness about the violence Black trans people face.
Black Vision Collective organizes around racial justice in Minneapolis, and they’ve been especially vocal in the aftermath of George Floyd‘s death at the hands of the Minneapolis police. They released a statement saying, “Transphobia is violence and we are NOT going to be free unless our Black trans sisters, brothers, and siblings are free/safe. A sister was attacked last night. Her name is Iyanna Dior.”
BVC then provided a link to Dior’s CashApp for people to donate – $Najababiie.
T.V. writer, producer, and director Janet Mock also tweeted out Dior’s CashApp and a statement writing:
“We must stop centering cis heterosexual men and their needs. We will not ignore the violence some of these men enact on our sisters’ and our siblings’ lives. We need our black cis siblings to roll up RIGHT NOW. We are your family. Say #IyannaDior’s name. #BlackLivesMattter.“
Mock has become a trailblazer in the entertainment industry, becoming the first openly transgender woman to sign a major deal with Netflix to produce new content.
Dior’s attack comes after another person apart of the LGBTQ community, Tony McDade, was killed by the police in Tallahassee, Florida. He was a trans man who was fatally shot by cops after being identified as a suspect in an earlier stabbing incident. According to his social media posts prior to being killed by the police, McDade says he was jumped by multiple guys. Activists are demanding an investigation into the cop shooting and the events leading up to it.
Since Dior’s video has gone viral, there have been no reports of arrests being made. Meanwhile, many people have expressed their outrage over the attack. Check out some social media posts for yourself below.