After waiting for some time, Dwyane Wade’s daughter Zaya was recently granted a legal name and gender change.
Despite there being some pushback from her mother, the younger Wade was able to officially have her legal gender changed from male to female and name changed to Zaya Malachi Airamis Wade.
The elder Wade and Gabrielle Union, his current wife, have been very supportive and loving of the younger Wade ever since she came out as transgender a few years ago.
The couple is very active in its public service, which led it to receive the President’s Award during the 54th NAACP Image Awards, which took place on Saturday.
Union and the elder Wade gave an inspiring speech while accepting the award, and their words caught the attention of Michelle Obama.
I hope you’ll watch this powerful speech by @DwyaneWade and @itsgabrielleu. This is what it means to show up for your child—and for all of our children.
Zaya, I’m so proud of you. You’re an inspiration for us all. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/diLQGr8HZE
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) February 27, 2023
“As your father, my job isn’t to create a version of myself or direct your future,” the elder Wade began. “My role is to be a facilitator to your hopes, your wishes, and your dreams. Zaya, you’ve made me a better human just simply by being who you were born to be: our baby girl, Zaya Wade. So, baby, thank you for showing the world what courage looks like. I’m proud that I was chosen to stand in place as your father.”
Union took the mic after the former Miami Heat superstar to offer powerful words of her own.
“We honestly don’t approach this work as activists or leaders as much as we do this as parents,” she said. “Parents who love our children and will do whatever the hell we can to keep them seen and secure and safe.”
Both the elder Wade and Union made sure to highlight the importance of standing up to help everyone, especially Black trans people. That cause has become near and dear to their hearts in recent years, and they’ve done everything they can to help the LGBTQ community.
It’s truly special to see them use their enormous platforms to help those who need it.
According to the NAACP, the President’s Award is “presented in recognition of special achievement and distinguished public service.” Previous recipients of the award include LeBron James, who won two NBA titles with the elder Wade on the Heat, and Rihanna.
While winning this type of award is undoubtedly nice for the three-time champion and his wife, they’re surely going to continue their public services. They don’t seem like the type of people to let up after getting recognized for their efforts. They might be inspired to do even more work now.
It’ll be interesting to keep and eye on what type of work the two do in the near future as they look to make the world a better place.
