Iyanna Dior Attack: Artists React

On Monday (June 1), a black transgender woman named Iyanna Dior was viciously attacked by a group of men at a gas station in Minneapolis, Minnesota, according to viral footage that has been posted and shared online.

According to the clip (which Billboard will not post here due to its graphic violence), a group of about 20 cisgender men began beating Dior inside of the gas station while using derogatory slurs against her.

Eventually, Dior was able to flee behind the store’s counter as bystanders prevented the group from getting to her again.

In a video on her Facebook page, Dior assured viewers that she was okay, while also showing the bruising and swelling she had maintained on her face and body. She also posted her CashApp username ($NajaBabiie) for those interested in helping her following the attack.

A number of celebrities have since responded to the horrific attack. Most notably, trans director, writer and activist Janet Mock dedicated multiple posts across her social media to Dior, exclaiming that the attack on her is yet another attack on black lives.

“Our fight for black lives will not be in sacrifice of you or our sisters. We must stop centering cisgender heterosexual men and their needs,” Mock wrote on Instagram. “If Black lives matter then Black trans lives should matter as well. We are here. We been here.”

Mock wasn’t the only star to share Dior’s story — see more reactions below.

View this post on Instagram

Iyanna Dior. Sis, you’re still standing. I praise and uplift you. I’m sending you the strength of your sisters still standing too — and the ones who no longer could. They deserve rest, and we speak their names too. Iyanna, you are a black trans woman. What a gift! Don’t let nobody tell you otherwise. Sis. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. They didn’t have to come after you. But they did. There’s no fucking excuse for their brutality, their dangerous ignorance, their fragile masculinity. That shit been killing us. To be brutally attacked and called out your name while a crowd of your brothers and siblings look on….I’m so sorry sis. My heart aches for you. But we got you sis. You’re gonna heal. You rest now. Let us carry what you can’t right now. You deserve rest and peace. We’re showing the fuck up. Our fight for black lives will not be in sacrifice of you or our sisters. 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. If Black lives matter then Black trans lives should matter as well. We are here. We been here. We need our black cisgender siblings to roll up RIGHT NOW. You ain’t no ally. You are family. We are your family. Speak Iyanna Dior’s name — all our names — just as much as we’ve been screaming yours. We love y’all. We show up for y’all. Now show up for us. #blacklivesmatter #iyannadior #girlslikeus UPDATE: Iyanna’s previous CashApp username $NajaBabiie is not working. She’s verified that her updated CashApp is $IyannaDIO (those are uppercase i). I’d also recommend donating funds to grassroots trans orgs: @tgijustice @mpjinstitute @sylviariveralawproject @youthbreakout @translatinacoalition to name a few.

A post shared by J A N E T M O C K (@janetmock) on

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