Gabrielle Union and Dwayne Wade to be honored at the NAACP Image Awards

LGBTQ+ allies Gabrielle Union-Wade and Dwayne Wade will receive the President’s Award at the 2023 NAACP Image Awards.

“We’re thrilled to present this award to Gabrielle Union-Wade and Dwyane Wade who together have consistently utilized their platforms to advance social justice and raise awareness to the inequalities existing in our country,” NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said. “We’re proud to recognize the couple’s tireless humanitarian work as they continue to advocate for equality and acceptance for all.”

Related:

Dwyane Wade slams his ex for trying to block trans daughter from legally changing her name

“No one in our house would ever force Zaya or any of our children to do anything against their will.”

As The Hollywood Reporter, which first broke the news, notes, the NAACP’s President’s Award honors notable achievement and valued public service. The couple, whose Wade Family Foundation supports marginalized communities, will receive the award at the ceremony which will broadcast life on BET on February 25.

“Gabrielle Union-Wade and Dwyane Wade are exemplary in their purpose-driven leadership and use of their collective platforms for good,” Scott Mills, President & CEO of BET said. “This year’s recipients of the NAACP President’s Award are not just a timely signifier of the issues that matter most to the community; they are a testament to what is possible when one commits themselves to advancement in those areas. It is a great honor for BET to join the NAACP to amplify these issues and celebrate the leaders doing the work to drive change in our community.”

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The celebrity couple supports a myriad of causes dedicated to supporting Black-owned small businesses and community organization, empowering communities of color, and ending gun violence. They’re also deeply invested in LGBTQ+ rights and have raised money for GLESN.

They’ve also been outspoken in their support of Wade’s daughter Zaya. “Me and my wife Gabrielle, we are proud – and I say proud – parents of a child in the LGBTQ+ community,” Wade said on a 2020 episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, describing how Zaya came out as transgender.

Wade has repeatedly gone to bat for Zaya, petitioning a Los Angeles court to legally change her name and describing how he’s tried to protect her from hateful social media comments.

“I mean, to us, it’s a little odd to be, to get, you know, any kind of recognition for doing what, you know, you’re supposed to do, which is love and accept and embrace your kids. But unfortunately, there are so many people who just don’t,” Union-Wade told Ellen DeGeneres in 2020. “We are just doing what’s natural to us and loving her. We just want happy, healthy, compassionate kids. So we try to lead with that.”

Union and Wade both attended Pride with Zaya in June 2019 and Wade stood up for Zaya when Instagram users criticized her for wearing a crop-top and painted nails in early December 2019. That same month, he discussed the importance of supporting queer children on a podcast in December 2019. The couple also joined Zaya on her red carpet debut for an event celebrating black LGBTQ children in March 2020.