WILMINGTON – Randall Law was an actor living in Los Angeles in 2007 when the seed of an idea that has changed his life first germinated.
He was working at the Los Angeles Film Festival when a colleague challenged him to come up with a band name for shock value. He proposed “Kool Kolored Kid,” envisioning a band composed of individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds that would reappropriate the acronym KKK from its negative history.
It was just a momentary exercise in creativity, but a decade later the Southbridge native returned home to Wilmington and returned to the idea.
“I moved back in with my sister, and she was really dabbling in fashion and finding some success, so it got me interested in it,” Law told Delaware Business Times. “I had made some pieces of clothing, but I never thought that my path would lead me to where I am right now.”
A graduate of Delcastle Technical High School who also attended the Philadelphia Art Institute, Law had experience with video production and editing, and social media marketing. He had also previously dabbled in the fashion industry, modeling for Russell Simmons’ brand Phat Farm in New York.
But back home in Wilmington, he saw an opportunity to not only make interesting products, but also make an impression on his local community. He founded Kool Kolored Kid Generation, or KKKG, amid the COVID pandemic in 2020, seeking to inspire and empower people of all colors and those who support positive change through fashion.
The KKKG brand logo was inspired by fonts used by the former Brooklyn Dodgers during Jackie Robinson’s days after Law saw a documentary on the barrier-breaking ballplayer. He also often includes the flags from countries predominantly home to people of color in his designs, aiming to build pride in young people’s roots.
“Some people didn’t understand my intent [with the KKKG brand] and I got a lot of backlash from my community when I first started. But the more and more they saw the consistency with it and the storytelling behind it, they caught on and have supported it,” he said. “One thing that makes our brand different is that we are willing to challenge histories past and present. We’re willing to not only just change the narrative, but help people understand that they can make change in so many different ways.”
Today, the brand offers a wide range of clothing for men, women, and children, as well as patches, pins, backpacks, hats, and footwear. Word of mouth and social marketing has helped the brand grow too, with sales stretching up and down the East Coast.
Law wants to keep growing the brand’s product offerings and visibility in the short term, possibly connecting with local boutiques that could carry the line that thrives currently through online sales. His big goal would be to one day outfit an Olympic team to show the brand’s global vision.
The growth of KKKG has also allowed Law to start giving back to his local community though, hosting annual back-to-school “100 Pairs to Give” events. At an event in August at William Penn High School, KKKG drew more than 250 attendees and gave away 100 pairs of sneakers and 50 custom Kool World backpacks. Partnering with Stepping Stones Federal Credit Union and NERDiT NOW, they also donated 100 computers to students who attended the event.
Law called upon his personal connections to draw local celebrities for the event, including AllHipHop.com founder Greg Watkins; Ashlee Cooper, founder and CEO of drone training program Droneversity; and Will Sheridan, a Delaware Basketball Hall of Famer and former Villanova University player.
Law said the events were important because he felt there weren’t enough geared toward kids.
“We have to do more for our students. Let’s bring some motivation in here. Let’s show these students that there are people who are from the state of Delaware who have made some changes not only just in the state but outside of Delaware too,” he said.
