Gabrielle Union sent hearts melting on Instagram Aug. 6 when she posted precious highlights from her daughter Kaavia James’ dance recital.
The adorable video featured “before,” “during” and “after” moments from the 4-year-old’s dance recital where she wowed the audience with a cute ballet performance and a heart-tugging choreographed performance.
Before the show, Union and the cutie patootie practiced a few self-affirmations in the mirror. The mother and daughter duo smiled and laughed as they shared the sweet bonding moment. Then, the video quickly panned to Kaavia’s performance. The fast montage captured the talented 4-year-old stomping, clapping and shimming her hips in unison with her class. During the ballet segment of the show, the young tot wore a cute pair of bunny ears as she confidently twirled around the room.
When the show finished, Union and proud poppa Dwyane Wade presented the youngster with a bouquet of flowers to celebrate her amazing recital. She also received a certificate for her outstanding performance. Tired from the long day, the video ended with Wade holding Kaavia as she rested on her dad’s shoulder.
Union captioned the precious reel, “Every Black girl deserves her flowers.”
Fans rushed to the comments section to congratulate Kaavia on her dance recital.
Some netizens were in awe of how fast the 4-year-old star grew. Other users praised the Breaking In actress for pouring love and confidence into her daughter and children.
“Every black girl truly deserves her flowers. It’s crucial to recognize and celebrate the incredible achievements and contributions of black girls in all walks of life,” one user penned.
“I can’t believe how big she’s gotten. She is a beautiful soul,” another fan wrote.
“I mean, what a cutie pie & we knew she was a born performer!” a third user gushed of the recital. “Looks like you have to do a musical so she can costar ala Blue Ivy!”
“This little girl has grown up with a foundation of love. That’s enough to win in life,” a fourth Instagram user opined.
Sadly, a few miserable Karens snuck into the comments section attempting to tarnish Union’s sweet video.
“Every girl deserves flowers. Not sure why everything has to be about color. But congrats to your baby girl, she’s precious,” one negative Nancy commented. “There she goes dividing the people so we can’t unite,” another musty, dusty Karen penned.
Fortunately, Black netizens of Instagram rallied together to support Union. A fan named @ladyt0629 summed it up perfectly for the haters.
“To the entitled, nonunderstanding, uneducated Karens on this post. The Constitution indicates, ‘All Men are created equal,’ and how did that turn out for us? Yet you still have the nerve to question the use of ‘black girl’ & try to center yourselves. Instead, look beyond your privilege & educate yourselves as to why this post with this particular phrasing is necessary before you point your ignorance toward a beautiful black 4-year-old’s post,”
We know that’s right!
Union and Wade don’t mess around when it comes to building a happy, loving and nurturing environment for their children.
In March, the proud momma took to Instagram with a beautiful video that captured her and Kaavia reciting “I Am” affirmations into the mirror. In the short clip, the matriarch coached the adorable tot to recite empowering affirmations about her “beautiful hair” and self-worth.
In February, a Los Angeles county judge signed off on a petition that granted Zaya Wade, the couple’s 16-year-old transgender daughter, the right to change her name and gender assignment. Wade and Union were at the young teen’s side every step of the way.
During a recent interview with Parents, the superstar couple revealed that they had recently moved from Florida to California so that Zaya could “blossom and grow” free of judgment.
“We felt that California was a place that would allow her to blossom and grow. She’s going to be a junior in high school now, and she’s been able to be accepted and become her here,” Wade, 41, said.
In May, Florida Gov. DeSantis signed a slate of bills into law that could threaten the rights of LGBTQ+ people living in the state. HB 1069, for example, prohibits educators from teaching sexual orientation or gender identity from Pre-K through 8th grade. There’s also the controversial SB 254 bill, an extreme gender-affirming care ban that prohibits sex-reassignment prescriptions and procedures for patients younger than 18 years.
Union told Parents that the move was crucial for Zaya’s safety.
“When you have the kind of rhetoric that is being espoused in Florida and adopted into law, that’s not an option if my child isn’t safe there,” the actress explained. “We have family and friends who don’t have the privilege of moving. So we are going to be fighting till we are out of breath to protect all kids who are oppressed. That is our responsibility as people with large platforms and as people who folks trust, and they trust us because we say the hard thing.”
In 2018, Wade and Union welcomed Kaavia into the world. Wade shares two children with ex-wife Siovaughn Funches: Zaya, 16, and Zaire, 21. The former NBA star is also a proud father to Xavier, 9, whom he shares with reality TV star Aja Metoyer.
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