Another video highlighting violence against Black people in the US circulated on social media earlier this week, depicting a group of 20 to 30 people attacking Iyanna Dior, a 21-year-old Black trans woman, on June 1 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In the video, the mob was shown violently beating Dior as they called her homophobic slurs outside of a convenience store. Insider has reviewed the video but will not be linking to it due to its graphic nature.
Dior eventually escaped from her attackers after bystanders intervened by standing between her and the group. She then slipped behind the store counter and out the back door.
The attack did not appear to be related to the ongoing demonstrations against anti-Black police brutality in the City of Lakes.
A day after the attack, Dior took to Facebook to say she is OK, showing her extensive injuries.
"The whole side of my face is swollen. It hurts so bad. On my forehead, if you run your hands across it, these are knots. That's a whole patch of scratches," she said in the video. "My f---ing arm is just swollen, it hurts so bad. I need to go to the hospital. My lips are cut on the inside. A lot of s--- happened."
She followed the Facebook Live with a post that read, "BLACK TRANS LIVES MATTER."
The Minneapolis Police Department did not immediately respond for comment on whether or not they will be investigating the attack at the time of this article's writing.
Experts have long been warning about an "epidemic" of violence against trans women of color
Following the video going viral, several high profile Black trans women took to social media to voice their support of Dior and bring awareness to what experts have called a crisis of attacks against trans people in the US.
Last year, the American Medical Association adopted new policies intended to put an end to an "epidemic" of violence against trans women, particularly trans women of color. The organization, which counts 250,000 US medics as members, called on healthcare workers to recognize these attacks as a public health issue, urging medics to document violence against trans people, and collaborate with law enforcement on investigations into abuses.
In 2019, 26 transgender and non-binary people were killed, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Of those 26, 91% were Black women.
"The number of victims could be even higher due to underreporting and better data collection by law enforcement is needed to create strategies that will prevent anti-transgender violence," S. Bobby Mukkamala, MD, AMA board member, said in a press release.
Outcry in reaction to Dior's attack
Janet Mock, executive producer of the FX show "Pose," tweeted resources for trans Black women and voiced her support of Dior in a long Instagram post.
—Janet Mock (@janetmock) June 3, 2020
"Our fight for black lives will not be in sacrifice of you or our sisters," Mock wrote in an Instagram caption. "We must stop centering cisgender heterosexual men and their needs. We will not ignore the violence some of these men enact on you, our sisters' and our siblings' lives."
Raquel Willis, writer, former editor of Out magazine, and activist, also took to Twitter to emphasize the need to focus on all Black lives during the ongoing wave of Civil Rights demonstrations.
—Raquel Willis (@RaquelWillis_) June 3, 2020
The attack occurred during a trend of demonstrations across the country protesting against the violence against Black people in the US. One of the deaths that sparked the latest protests is when police shot and killed Tony McDade, a Black trans man, on May 27.
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