On the eve of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, 3x-NBA Champion, Olympic Gold medalist, and 13x NBA All-Star, Dwyane Wade, urged Americans to support the LGBTQ community with their vote, saying in part: “The LGBTQ+ community needs leaders who will fight for all of us.”
The video, which was published on the Translatable Project’s Instagram account, encouraged voters to vote with equality, freedom and access to healthcare in mind.
“I’m voting to stop the terrorizing of our families, the bullying, and the attacking of our access to healthcare,” Wade continued.
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Wade’s daughter, Zaya, also posted a video to the account, encouraging American voters to support the future of LGBTQ youth.
Zaya is 17 and not of age to vote in this election but quipped, “Luckily, there’s no age limit on using my voice.”
“As extremist politicians escalate their attacks on LGBTQ+ plus people, the stakes are higher than ever before. What’s at stake is our humanity, our right to exist, and our ability to live in environments free from discrimination and fear. All of us deserve to be treated equally and all of us deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. I’m asking you to vote for me. Vote for kids just like me. Our voices deserve to be heard,” Zaya said.
The Translatable Project was co-created by Zaya and founded by her father, Dwyane Wade, earlier this year.
Funded by the Wade Family Foundation, Translatable was launched to foster a new online community designed to support transgender children and their families, providing a safe space for conversations of understanding and acceptance.
The Wade family, including matriarch Gabrielle Union, are no strangers to being fierce advocates of the LGBTQ community, all the while being the fiercest of defenders of their daughter, Zaya, after her coming out as transgender in 2020.
Last year, on the GLAAD Media Awards red carpet Union was “over the moon” to attend the ceremony with Zaya. “That’s really exciting for her to really get a chance to meet a lot of the community is huge,” said Union.
In regards to hate against the LGTBQ community she did not mince words: “Every time someone has said something negative about me, and I check them out, not one of them has a life I am envious of; not one is living their truth; not one has joy consistently in their life. So, if those are the people you are going to listen to, we have some other issues we have to work out first.”
During the 54th annual NAACP Image Awards, Dwyane and Union were honored with the President’s Awards for their philanthropic work and vocal support of the LGBTQIA community. The pair gave a very stirring speech and bolstered their love and admiration for Zaya and the LGBTQ community at large.
“I want to take this moment to publicly speak to our daughter, Zaya,” said Wade. “Zaya, as your father, all I’ve wanted to do was get it right. I’ve sat back and watched how gracefully you’ve taken on the public scrutiny. And even though it’s not easy, I watched you walk out of the house every morning as yourself.
He continued, “I admire how you’ve handled the ignorance in our world … that you face every day. To say that your village is proud of you is an understatement. Thank you for showing me that there’s more than just one way to communicate effectively. You’ve taught me that communication with my mouth isn’t enough. I have to also communicate with my two ears and my two eyes.”
When Union took the mic, more praise was given but there was also a call to action. “It’s humbling to stand here surrounded by friends and heroes, OGs and icons, all working to advance the lives of Black people and pay respect to an organization that has led us through over a century of relentless challenge, pain, triumph, and change. And now stands 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?
There were plenty of affirmations and applause breaks during Union’s speech as she continued to speak “hard truths“.
“The intersection of Black rights and the rights of the LGBTQIA, trans, and gender non-conforming people continues to be rough — that’s a huge understatement,” she said. “Even as we demand equality at the top of our lungs, we consistently fail to extend our advocacy to protect some of our most vulnerable among us.”
Additional LGBTQ-focused resources, data and fact sheets around this year’s election can be found at GLAAD.org/Vote.