Yahoo Movies Dwyane Wade Encourages Black Community to Use 'Power Together to Create Change'
The Wall Street Journal Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union
Dwyane Wade sees the power in his community — and he's encouraging others to use it.
The 39-year-old former NBA player and his wife Gabrielle Union are appearing as part of The Wall Street Journal's The Future of Everything Festival this week, chatting with Deputy Chief News Editor Darren Everson about a variety of topics, including Wade's social justice work.
"What I wanna say to all the Black people out there, all the marginalized peoples, we understand why the politicians are trying to silence the black voters," Wade says in an exclusive PEOPLE clip of he pre-taped interview, premiering in full Tuesday. "It's because of our power."
Continues Wade, "Understand if we mobilize and we utilize what we have, and that's our power, that it scares everybody. No one's scared because of our muscles and because of our skin tone, they're scared of us because of our power. And so, we want our kids to understand where they come from, who they are and don't let the world step on them because of it."
The couple — who are raising kids including their daughter Kaavia, 2, and Zaya, 13, Zaire, 19 (Wade's from his first marriage), Xavier, 7 (Wade's from an ex), and Dahveon, 19, (Wade's nephew) — are known for using their platforms to raise awareness for a variety of social issues, not limited to just those affecting Black Americans.
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"That's the message for everybody out there, the community: let's mobilize, let's utilize what we have and that's our power together to create change, to make change, to have the life that we say we want," Wade adds.
Shareif Ziyadat/FilmMagic Dwayne Wade, Gabrielle Union
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Last year, Wade launched an initiative with Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul to support social justice issues in the wake of increased attention around the Black Lives Matter movement, called the Social Change Fund. According to the organization's website, the fund's goal is to invest in and support organizations that work to advocate for communities of color through avenues including representation and policy solutions, among other things.
Wade and Union's chat is one of several talks with thought leaders as part of the Future of Everything Festival from Tuesday through Thursday. Others featured include Paris Hilton, Barry Jenkins, Tim Stokely, and Miranda Kerr. The festival also includes interactive workshops. Virtual tickets can be purchased here.
