The Mall of America has finally hired a black Santa.
Christmas has traditionally been a holiday period marked by an old, white male known as Santa. However, the stereotype of Santa only having one physical appearance has been dispelled in recent years, paving way for Kris Kringles of a variety of ethnicities.
The Minneapolis shopping center has had a white Santa for 24 years, but it appears as if it has finally wisened up. Black children can now feel like they have someone to relate to when asking black Santa for gifts.
The man playing the role is Larry Jefferson, a retired U.S. Army veteran from Texas. He will spend four days at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, helping children by the form of an appointment only.
Following his brief stint, Jefferson will
return to Texas. Mall of America Santa Experience owner Landon Luther reportedly met Jefferson at a Santa convention in Missouri where he was the only Santa of color among about 1,000 Kris Kringles.
The move makes quite a bit of sense as roughly 12% of the U.S. is black. The move begs the question: when will we have the first Latino or Asian Santa, or even the first woman Santa?
In one case, Jefferson noticed that a kid said he was brown. The man responded by noting that Santa comes in many colors, which drew a surprised response from the kid.
