Gabrielle Union says she 'wasn't raised to be free, I was raised to conform' as she launches a kids book to empower young Black girls

• Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade discussed their upcoming children's book "Shady Baby" with People.
• The book is based on their youngest daughter, Kaavia, and her big personality.
• "She's free to be this amazing, dynamic, shady at times, loving at times, funny at times, Black little girl," Union said.

Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade discussed their upcoming children's book "Shady Baby," inspired by their two-year-old daughter Kaavia, in an interview with People.

"Shady Baby" follows a toddler as she navigates the world, showcasing her full range of emotions, including shadiness. Union told People she wanted to reframe the way people think about shade by showing readers it can be their "superpower."

"For Kaavia, when she gives you that look, it's because you're disrespecting a boundary or something's happening that she doesn't like," Union said.

"Shade is your superpower, it's about accountability. You can see little Black girls and women as leaders."

This isn't the first time Kaavia's served as a literary muse for her parents. Her birth actually inspired Union's first children's book, "Welcome to the Party."

Union told People she wanted to put out children's books about joyful Black girls because she rarely got to be free as a child. Instead, she felt she had to learn how to appease white people and be close to whiteness to survive.

"I wasn't raised to be free, I was raised to conform...to be super conscious of the white gaze and to constantly shapeshift," Union told People.

Contrary to Union's constrained upbringing, "Shady Baby" showcases freedom in its purest form: a tiny toddler with a big personality.

"It's just capturing [Kaavia's] essence and the main takeaway is she's free," Union said.

"She's free to be this amazing, dynamic, shady at times, loving at times, funny at times, Black little girl when the world has been not so kind to Black girls and women. For so many people she's just straight up freedom."