Activists across the country are rallying around Iyanna Dior, a Black trans woman who was brutally attacked after a fender bender in Minnesota.
Video of the June 1 assault is being shared widely across Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Since the assault, Dior has shared on her private Facebook page that she is taking time to process what happened to her and is doing OK, Out magazine reported.
Details on the incident are sparse, but the video shows a group of men and women repeatedly punching and kicking Dior at a convenience store in Minneapolis. Dior runs inside of the store and eventually makes her way behind the counter looking for someone to help her.
WARNING: The below video includes graphic content.
"I just need some time to process everything that's going on. Thanks to everyone reaching out making sure I'm ok. Imma talk real soon," Dior said on Facebook.
In an effort to show support, people are donating to Dior's CashApp account at $IyannaDIO.
Here’s the most recent LIVE that #IyannaDior posted.
Update video on what’s being shared about her old cash app.
Video verification this is the cash app to send $ to. @theestallion send to $IyannaDIO pic.twitter.com/0HzhQoZfkt
— BlackTransFutures (@BlkTransFutures) June 3, 2020
Nonprofit organization Abounding Prosperity shared a statement about the incident.
"We … are deeply saddened, angered and disgusted at the images in the recent video of another Black transgender woman being brutally attacked by a mob of Black men and women."
The group added that it was "not acceptable for groups of people to stand by and watch and record and individual being attacked and beaten."
"If we want Black Lives to Matter, then All Black Lives Must Matter, including Black Trans Lives Matter," the statement read.
Director, actress and activist Janet Mock spoke out about Dior in a long post on her Instagram page.
On Wednesday, Mock shared a powerful post about the assault, writing that "We will not ignore the violence some of these men enact on you, our sisters’ and our siblings’ lives."
Other people have spoken out about the assault and highlighted that people within the Black community have to step up and help trans people during a time like this.
Nala Toussaint, a member of the Black Trans Advisory Council within the National Black Justice Coalition, said in a statement that too many Black trans women "are afraid that those we’re marching against may inflict violence against us."
"We’re fighting for the same thing. We’re fighting for the right to take up space, without fear of violence. If Black lives really do matter, our lives must matter too. As a community, as Black women, we must be better in how we address disagreements with one another — violence is never the answer," Toussaint said.
"While we’re addressing the violence we’ve learned from white oppressors we must unlearn and stop, completely, the history of violence between Black men and Black women, cis and trans. We are all members of this community. We all need one another and are stronger together,” Toussaint added.
The organization called for public acknowledgment of the incident from the Minneapolis mayor, police department, or attorney general.
David Johns, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition, added that he has "had too many conversations with Black trans and gender non-conforming siblings who suffer in silence because they know calling the police during or after an assault is not an option."
"Our community is stronger together. This is not hyperbole; it’s a fact and unless our community acknowledges the beautiful diversity that has always existed within our community we will be stymied in our efforts to obtain social justice," Johns said.
"Black women, cis and trans, have always held our community down. Fannie Lou Hamer taught us the importance of working together decades ago by reminding us that none of us are free unless and until all of us are free—so we’re clear this includes Black queer, trans, and gender non-conforming members of our beautiful community,” he continued.
The group noted in their statement that 12 trans people have been murdered this year, including Nina Pop and Tony McDade.