Dwayne Wade’s transgender child Zaya Wade, who turned 19 on May 29, hosted their 2nd annual Translatable Ball to celebrate the start of June Pride Month.
The college student hosted the Ball at The Mayan in Los Angeles.
Zaya cofounded the Translatable Ball (with Dwyane) to provide a safe space for trans youth, creatives, and allies to celebrate self expression and inclusivity.
“Translatable is a safe space, it’s a community hub for queer youth, and their families, and allies, who just want to understand more about what the queer community, or the trans community is like, and tonight’s all about fun,” Zaya told Queerty.
Zaya credited Calypso Jete, winner of Season 1 of HBO’s Legendary, with introducing them to the ballroom scene.
“The legendary west coast mother Calypso Jete of Pinkladies, she was so helpful, she’s our co-host, we wouldn’t be here without her,” Zaya told Queerty. “She really introduced us to the ball culture, really helped us understand, so that we could really connect with our community.”
Dwyane Wade explained how they came up with the concept for the ball.
“We were able to sit down with (Zaya) and try to find out what it is she wanted to do,” he said. “As she’s gotten older, obviously there’s a lot of conversation around not only her, but around friends of hers, around the community that she’s a part of, and so we sat down with her and talked to her about what is she wished she had. And she said she wished she had community, she wished she had a safe space, a safe haven. That right there started the birth of Translatable.”
When asked about Translatable’s mission, Gabrielle Union said, “Listen. You don’t have all the answers, your life isn’t their life, and it’s okay to learn from your kids. It’s okay to learn from your loved ones, and humble yourself, that there’s more to learn, and there’s more love to give.”