An extremely graphic video displaying the brutal beating of a Minnesota Black trans woman by a violent mob of dozens of Black men sent shockwaves through social media on Tuesday. Iyanna Dior, the young trans woman at the center of the June 1 attack, sought refuge inside of Sams Dairy, a convenience store on the 1500 block of Maryland Avenue on the east side of St. Paul, Minnesota. Sources tell Living Out Loud 2.0 that a fender bender between Dior and another unnamed motorist set the wheels in motion for Dior's assault, which was captured and streamed on Facebook Live.
Sources say at least 30 men participated in Dior's attack. In the extremely graphic video, Dior finds herself on the receiving end of multiple blows to the head by several men inside the convenience store while onlookers encourage her attackers, but failed to intervene on her behalf. At one point, Dior manages to retreat outside, only for her attackers to follow and to continue to deliver blows. She then finds her way back inside and behind the store counter with employees, providing the first sense of distance and safety from her attackers who are relentless and continue to yell profanity and homophobic slurs.
"You've gotta come out! You've gotta come out!," yelled one of Dior's attackers.
"We're gonna get your faggot ass out of the store bitch!," yelled another attacker.
Ultimately, it was a store employee who can be seen in the video providing Dior safety and denying her attackers further access by locking her in the store office.
Dior has been active on social media in the hours and days following her attack.
She posted a short clip on Facebook late Tuesday night describing the extent of her injuries.
“The whole side of my face is swollen. It hurts so bad," said Dior. "And then on my forehead…if you run your hands across it…these are knots. That’s a long patch of scratches. I have knots on my face, literally. And then my fucking arm…it’s just swollen. It hurts so bad. I need to go to the hospital. My bottom teeth went inside of my lips, and then my lips are cut on the inside. A lot of shit happened.”
There has been an outpouring of love and support for Dior from the Black trans community. There has also been righteous indignation at the continued marginalization and erasure of Black trans women from media coverage and the Black Lives Matter Movement. It's also not lost on Black trans women and their allies that the circumstances that led to Dior's assault are eerily similar to the circumstances that lead to the brutal beating, and weeks later, the fatal shooting of Dallas trans woman Muhlaysia Booker. And that this latest transphobic assault takes place amongst the backdrop of the George Floyd protests in the twin city where he was murdered.
Read a statement from the National Black Justice Coalition on Dior's assault here.
The video of Dior's assault is posted below. However, we warn you that the video is graphic and may be triggering. Watch at your own risk.
Living Out Loud 2.0 reached out to Dior for comment but she did not respond to our request prior to publishing.
This is so heart breaking to see my people of color behaving in this manner. I pray for the young person that was attacked and their family