Random Thoughts on Black Santa.....

I will provide an analysis in a few. Suffice it to say, my father did spray paint our White Santa Claus door ornament brown during my youth, forever leaving me with an indelible cultural imprint for unforgivable blackness-I'm just sayin.' Check out this excerpt from Desiree Cooper's Inside Blackness series, courtesy of WeekendAmerica.PublicRadio.org:

Richard Bogle (Vancouver, WA):

I was the first black Santa I ever saw. I'm an ex-cop, and two of my former partners were part of the law enforcement training department at Clackamas Community College in Oregon. They decided to have a Christmas party for the children of incarcerated parents. There were more than 600 mostly underprivileged boys and girls there, and I held each and every one of them on my lap and took their requests for gifts. I was hot, drained and flat out exhausted when I finished. But I left with a good feeling. Each kid was given a token gift, perhaps for many, the only gift that Christmas. Santa's race doesn't matter to me because he is a spirit. I think we should have more black Santas. It would reinforce a father-like image for young black kids. It would also enhance the multicultural experience for white youngsters.

Lea Washington (Elk Grove, CA):

I am a parent to two young boys who, at ages five and eight, have never had a sit-down with a mall Santa of any ethnicity. We are all African American. Santa's race doesn't matter to me directly, but I do understand the subtle message that seeing only a white Santa can convey. My eight-year-old son observed, after I pulled out a black Santa Christmas decoration last year, "That's not Santa. Santa is white." I asked why he thought that. He shared that basically all he's ever seen tells him that Santa is white, and no black Santa sitting on our mantle would change his mind. I explained that the mall Santas are helpers to the real Santa, and that they come in all shapes, sizes and colors, including black. Now, does this mean that I need to run out and find a black mall Santa? Nope. It does mean that I need to keep doing what I'm already doing: Teaching my children that we need to know as much about who is presenting the image, information, picture, etc., as we do about the item itself to help us understand the message being sent. Folks like to depict what is familiar and comfortable to them, and a white Santa is that for many.

To read Cooper's article in its entirety, click on the link below:

Inside Blackness: Black Santa