With the recent uprising of protests across the country for the demand of racism to come to an end, a video has transpired across social media of the brutal beating of Iyanna Dior, a Black trans woman, on June 1st in Minnesota.
What We Know:
- According to social media posts and Out, the incident began over a “fender bender”. The video of the brutal attack surfaced over the internet and shows Iyanna being struck multiple times by a group of what was made up of mostly males. She was continuously struck until she hid behind the cash register.
- Iyanna went live on Facebook to let everyone know she had survived the attack although she sustained a few injuries. Iyanna says in the video, “The whole side of my face is literally swollen and it hurts so bad. On my forehead I have like, if run your hands across it these are knots, like that’s a long patch of scratches.”
- Activists and journalists have reached out on social media in support of Iyanna Dior and her brutal attack. Activists Serena Daniari and Rachel Willis wrote on social media and commented on the matter.
I will not share the video, but #IyannaDior deserves justice. She’s a black trans woman who was brutally beaten by a group of nearly 30 men yesterday over a fender bender. Her life matters. If she has a GoFundMe or CashApp, let me know so I can share. May she heal and prosper. pic.twitter.com/NDLluGHrWU
— Serena Daniari (@serenajazmine) June 3, 2020
What will happen to us Black women, Black LGBTQ+ folks, Black trans women if we continue to only rally around the state violence that cishet Black men face?
— Raquel Willis (@RaquelWillis_) June 3, 2020
- Activists have also brought attention to the fatal shooting of Tiny McDade, a Black trans man from Tallahasse, Florida. This caused protests within the LBGTQ community. McDade was misgendered by police departments when his information was released.
According to a reoport from the HRC Foundation, at least 22 transgender people and gender non-confomring people were killed in 2019. All but one of these transgnder and nonconforming people were Black. The HRC also calls for more commnity-based resources to address the epidemic. There has been a 34 percent increase in hate crime killings from 2017 to 2018. People in support of Iyanna have shared her cashapp online for those who want to help her. You can find her cashapp here.
