Entrepreneur by day, controversial figure by evening, and part time law student by night, Kim Kardashian West plans on practicing law and opening her own law firm in the future. This is all with the intention of helping inmates get a second chance. She has talked before about wanting to follow the footsteps of her father, Robert Kardashian, who was a lawyer before passing away in 2003.
According to Caitlyn Jenner during an OK! interview, Kardashian told her that “she wants to start her own law firm and work on prison reform and try to hire as many former inmates [who’ve studied law], to help the prison system.” Kardashian has previously stated that that she has found her calling as a future criminal justice reform advocate, while thinking about her father as she puts in the work. She said:
“There are times when I can be, frustrated, up studying really late and wonder how he did it. Having four kids… [he] must have been going through some of the same things that I have gone through, so it would have been exciting to talk to him about that. I know that he would be so, so proud.”
Another Documentary
As it is expected, Kim also went to her Instagram and posted about her documentary on the same subject, called Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project. An Oxygen Original, the documentary tells the story of how Kardashian West’s interest began, starting by receiving letters of inmates explaining their circumstances to her. It premieres on Sunday, April 5.
As one of the executive producers, she highlights the cases of prisoners who are believed to have been sentenced unjustly in prison. This includes Alexis Martin, David Sheppard, Dawn Jackson, and Momolu Stewart. Kardashian West believes that this documentary “is an honest depiction of me learning about the system and helping bring tangible results to justice reform.”
Predecessors
Kardashian West’s dedication to prison reform came to light in 2018 when helping Alice Marie Johnson. Johnson, a first-time nonviolent offender who’d been serving a life sentence since 1996 due to a drug charge, was freed from prison after President Trump commuted her sentence. This happened just days after Kardashian West pleaded for Johnson’s case to Trump.
Ever since then, she has had a hand at helping commute the sentences of more than a dozen first-time nonviolent drug offenders. In addition, early last year, she also helped another woman who had been convicted as a teenager for murdering a man who paid to have sex with her.
Here Come The Critics
Kardashian West has been the co-matriarch of a family brand, along with her mother and sisters, since a series of events regarding positive and negative attitudes towards them. Kim, in particular, with some of her fame being attributed to developing beauty and fashion products, had her beginnings in the family reality TV series known as Keeping Up with the Kardashians. It makes sense to me for certain media outlets to be confused at this genuinely well-intention shift in her personal brand. I sure was too.
At an event held by the Television Critics Association, she was asked how she would react to people who believe that she is shifting direction for selfish and egocentric reasons. She responded, “I am very used to criticism, so nothing really fazes me. I really genuinely just stay focused on the cases and the people. I am not doing it for publicity. I really do care.”
As a bonus, Kardashian West has revealed her children to be one of her inspirations. “I am raising four black children that could face a situation like any of the people that I help.” Nothing motivates her more than knowing she can make her children’s lives easier by fixing a broken system.
As for me, this shows a level of maturity that I never thought I would see in her. It shows her evolving from a fame-hungry airhead (sorry, Kim) to an entity that wants to leave a better place for her family. It shows that there are more important things than photo shoots. It shows that I underestimated her. After all, she is currently the only Kardashian I am rooting for.
