Video shows black, transgender woman being assaulted by group in Minnesota
A black, transgender woman was beaten by a group of mostly black men earlier this month, according to videos posted on social media (extreme content warning).
The victim, Iyanna Dior of Minneapolis, spoke in a few live videos on her personal Facebook page, saying she is OK but the side of her face is swollen, and there are scratches and knots on her forehead.
And a march is scheduled in solidarity with Dior on Thursday at noon, according to a Facebook event. A news release announcing the march said, "Iyanna Dior, a young trans girl, almost lost her life in a brutal attack that would not have happened if she was not a black trans women. Over 30 plus men and women brutally assaulted this young lady of trans experience."
Marchers will meet at 38th and Chicago and march toward City Hall.
Some media reports claim the attack on Dior occurred in Minneapolis on June 1, however Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder told BMTN it happened in another jurisdiction, but he didn't know which one.
Meanwhile, Mike Ernster with the St. Paul Police Department told BMTN, "We are aware of the video, but we have not received any reports. We are currently trying to track down the victim. We won’t have anything to release until the victim is located and a report is filed."
The incident happened as the black community is coping with the death of George Floyd on May 25, which has LGBTQ activists sharing Dior's story to bring awareness to the violence against black transgender people, with many stressing that all black lives matter.
Abounding Prosperity Incorporated released a statement, saying in part: "The treatment that the black trans community in America receives from within its own black community is comparable to the treatment black men receive from law enforcement."
“This violence has got to stop. All of our hearts should hurt watching the videos of this young trans woman being hit by a group of people. Black lives matter and that includes trans, non-binary, queer, cis and straight Black lives,” Tori Cooper, director of community engagement for Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC)Transgender Justice Initiative, told Rolling Stone. “The time is now for us to make changes through an intersectional lens that includes all Black lives.”
The incident has prompted black trans women to show their support for Dior.
Last year, at least 26 transgender or gender non-conforming people were killed, according to HRC. Of those, 91 percent were black trans women.
And this isn't a new problem, the HRC said. It has tracked anti-transgender violence for the past seven years, finding that an average of at least 22 transgender and gender non-conforming people have been killed per year. (The group says "at least" because "data collection is often incomplete or unreliable when it comes to violent and fatal crimes against transgender and gender non-conforming people.")
Vox reports trans women of color are susceptible to violence due to a "complex intersection of their trans identity and race, as well as poverty, over-policing and housing."
