Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty
Dwyane WadeandGabrielle Unionare continuing to champion the fight forLGBTQrights.
As the couple accepted the President’s Award at Saturday’sNAACPImage Awards in Pasadena, Calif., they acknowledged that the intersection of rights for Black and LGBTQ people “continues to be rough” one day after daughterZaya Wade’slegal name change and gender assignment.
“Zaya, as your father, all I’ve wanted to do is get it right. I’ve sat back and watched how gracefully you’ve taken on the public scrutiny,” Wade, 41, said. “And even though it’s not easy, I watched you walk out of that house every morning as yourself. I admire how you’ve handled ignorance in our world. I admire it that you face every day. To say that your village is proud of you is an understatement.”
He continued: “As your father, my job isn’t to create a version of myself or direct your future. My role is to be a facilitator to your hopes, your wishes, your dreams.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
After announcing their daughter istransgenderandidentifies as femalein 2020, the 15-year-old’sname was legally changedto Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, where the judge also granted her a legal transition.
Union, 50, praised the NAACP for persevering “over a century of relentless challenge, pain, triumph and change,” as well as standing “with us again at the foot of a very new era of activism, a new era that demands our collective answer to one simple question. ‘Will we fight for some, or will we fight for all of our people?'”
TheTruth Be Toldstar urged those watching to “extend our advocacy to protect some of our most vulnerable among us,” adding: “Black trans people are being targeted, terrorized and hunted in this country, everyday, everywhere, and there is rarely a whisper about it.”
“We honestly don’t approach this work as activists or leaders as much as we do this as parents,” she continued. “Parents who love our children, and will do whatever the hell we can to keep them seen and secure and safe.”
Zaya Wade.Arnold Jerocki/Getty
“This is a conversation worth having in ways that can actually build bridges. That don’t fan the flames of hatred or division. That don’t enable lawmakers or justice systems to look the other way when Black trans people are under attack. That don’t drive more young people to hate themselves or harm themselves. That don’t cost people their lives,” added Union.
“So we are humbled and we are hopeful for the future. And we are hopeful that we may witness a real shift in the fight for justice the moment the movement makes room for everyone — everyone. Thank you,” she concluded.
Union and Wade have continued to publicly show their support for Zaya — whom Wade shares with ex-wifeSiohvaughn Funches— as many lawmakers fuel transphobic rhetoric.
RELATED VIDEO: Gabrielle Union on the Challenge of Playing a Homophobic Character as the Parent of a Trans Daughter
Earlier this month, HRC reported that 340 anti-LGBTQ bills have already been introduced in state legislatures across the country in 2023, with a record 150 targeting trans people.
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Tennessee has become the most recent battleground, with bills heading to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk that willban drag showsandrestrict gender-affirming care for trans minors. Many states have introduced similar pieces of legislation.
source: people.com
