NBA legend Dwyane Wade became renowned not only for his aerial acrobatics and on-court exploits but also because of his uncanny relatability to the working class.
D-Wade, as he is most often called, doesn’t feel detached from the travails of the disenfranchised and underrepresented. In fact, he remains intertwined in the affairs of the community, particularly in the sociopolitical realm.
This is why Wade, 39, and his wife, Gabrielle Union, 45, are participating in The Wall Street Journal’s “The Future of Everything Festival.” According to the newspaper’s website, the three-day event features “unscripted interviews and interactive workshops” with “entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, scientists and thinkers” who all come together for “a first look at the seismic shifts occurring in the way we live, work and play.”
D-Wade explained to WSJ’s Deputy Chief News Editor Darren Everson why he believes politicians are trying to neutralize Black voters.
“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 said in a pre-taped interview obtained by People magazine. “It’s because of our power.”
D-Wade, who knows a thing or two about power acquisitions after obtaining an ownership piece of the NBA’s Utah Jazz franchise, said he believes that Black cultural unity and mobilization frightens the mainstream.
“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,” he said, according to People mag. “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.”
