Retired NBA star Dwyane Wade is using his platform to talk about politics with the Black community.
He and his wife, actress Gabrielle Union, appeared at Wall Street Journal’s “The Future of Everything” festival as speakers to talk about politics and social justice. The event took place from May 11 to 13 and offered “unscripted interviews and interactive workshops.”
In a pre-recorded interview with People, Wade addressed how politicians treat communities made up of Black and marginalized voters. He said, “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. It’s because of our power.”
The 39-year-old went on to encourage his audience to put their power to use. “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.”
Additionally, he said, “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.” “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins also was among the speakers for the event. The festival aimed to give attendees “a first look at the seismic shifts occurring in the way we live, work and play.”
Setting an example for his fans and his kids, Wade has shown that he doesn’t just talk the talk. Previously, Wade paired up with three of his NBA peers, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul to launch the “Social Change Fund.” Its “priorities include ending police brutality, championing criminal justice reform, enabling economic equity, supporting voting and civic engagement, and advocating for the human rights of all Black lives,” according to the website. This came after the four men gave a momentous speech at the 2016 ESPYS about police brutality and encouraging their fellow athletes to bring “a call to action” to help their communities.
