Kim the Colonizer
Kim Kardashian has been awfully quiet throughout this election season, so I think it’s time to drag her because she owes everything she has to Black people and Black culture. No need to get into it too deeply, but let’s be petty for a second: the Kardashian name reached mainstream media off the back of O.J. Simpson, a Black man. Alright, with that out of the way, let’s really get into it.
Kim Kardashian has been famous for over 15 years now. Her clothing company, Skims, can be seen advertised on NBA courts, and she’s often touted as a successful entrepreneur, at the center of pop culture in recent years. But where did it start? Many think it began with a certain film being released online, but that’s not the beginning of the timeline.
In the early 2000s, Kim worked as a stylist for Brandy Norwood. The Norwood family was already notable, with Brandy as an R&B darling and her brother Ray J, a hip hop artist. Working as Brandy’s stylist put Kim in circles she would have otherwise never been welcomed into. She got to network and gained access to people and resources she wouldn’t have had otherwise. If this was all that came out of the relationship, I wouldn’t be writing this article, because that access and networking wasn’t enough for Kim.
In 2008, Sonja Norwood, Brandy’s mother, filed a lawsuit against the Kardashians. The lawsuit claimed that, while working for Norwood, the Kardashian children used Norwood’s credit card, charging up to $120K to stock their boutique, Dash. The start of the Kim Kardashian empire was funded by stealing money from a Black woman. And then, around the same time, the video that made her famous—featuring Miss Norwood’s son—was released. Do with that information what you will.
Oh, you thought that was the end of the story? Nope. Kim was known as a boutique owner and reality TV star, but believe it or not, this held no weight in high fashion. I know what you’re saying, “But Loc, she’s at the Met Gala every year!” She attended her first Met Gala as Kanye’s guest, only because she was married to him. Kanye held the status in the industry. As a designer, Kanye worked his way into a space few Black men have reached, and Kim got into the Met Gala off his hard work. Now, in the public eye, Kim is seen on the level of those designers.
No, we’re still not done—close, though. This brings us to Skims, what is now considered a designer brand, brought to you by Kim the “self-made” billionaire. Let’s speed-run this one: Kanye created the logo, has been called the ghost creative director of Skims, and is responsible for the skincare line. Oh, and the designs look awfully familiar to the Yeezy clothing line.
So, here we are. Kim Kardashian, the so-called self-made billionaire, who built her empire off the backs of Black culture, Black talent, and Black creativity—yet she’s never truly given credit where it’s due. She’s repackaged what wasn’t hers and turned it into billion-dollar ventures. But let’s be real, without the Black community, without Kanye, without Brandy and Ray J, who is Kim Kardashian really? Just someone who leveraged every opportunity, connection, and controversy to exploit her way into fame and success. But at what cost, and whose contributions and sacrifices did she exploit to get there? That’s the question we need to keep asking.