Author: Mystique Galloway (News For Negus)
Published: 7:22 PM June 21, 2020
Updated: 7:22 PM June 21, 2020
MINNEAPOLIS, MIN. — On Tuesday, June 2, just after 12:00 a.m., video footage of a brutal attack on a 21-year-old Iyanna Dior began to circulate via social media. Dior, a Black transgender woman from Minnesota is said to have been moving a friends vehicle when she hit cars parked in the neighborhood.
The viral video shows the incident further escalating outside of a convenience store in Minneapolis. The video shows a verbal altercation between Dior and an unidentified individual before a group of between 15 and 30 male assailants began beating Dior and calling her slurs outside of the store. Dior was able to escape into the store and through the back entrance with the help of bystanders, finding shelter and protection behind the register in the store.
Since the incident, Dior has taken to her Facebook account to communicate that she is “okay” and needs “some time to process everything that’s going on.” She has also shown the swelling and bruising on the right side of her face and arm, along with the cuts on/in her lips. Multiple celebrities have made statements in support of Iyanna Dior, including Pose producer Janet Mock.
Dior has since posted on social media after the footage of the attack spread, mostly thanking people for their help and noting all of the compassion she has received. . The Okra Project, Trans Women of Color Collective, National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition, National Center for Transgender Equality, Marsha P. Johnson Institute, and the TGI Justice Project are all organizations that fight against gender based violence against Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC).