Shoppers at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. were greeted by a brand new Santa Claus Thanksgiving weekend.
For the first time in the mall’s 24-year history, a Black man is playing the role of the North Pole’s most notable gift-giver.
“This is a long time coming,” Landon Luther, the co-owner of the Santa Experience, which has run the photo studio at the mall for 10 years, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
“We want Santa to be for everyone, period.”
Luther says he began looking for a different St. Nick in spring.
He found Larry Jefferson, a retired U.S. army veteran from Irving, Texas, after attending a Santa convention in Missouri. Nearly 1,000 impersonators convened for the “Kringle Family Reunion” during the summer.
His skin color, Jefferson said, hasn’t played a role in his interactions with the children on his lap.
“What they see most of the time is this red suit and candy,” he told the Tribune. “[Santa represents] a good spirit. I’m just a messenger to bring hope, love and peace to girls and boys.”
But soon after news of Jefferson’s debut made headlines, there was a flurry hateful reactions denouncing the choice. Some even called for a boycott of the mall.
According to the editorial editor of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, comments on black Santa became so offensive the paper shut down their online comments on the article about it.
“Looks like we had to turn comments off on story about Mall of America’s first black Santa. Merry Christmas everyone!” Scott Gillespie wrote.
That didn’t stop people whose world was rocked by a non-white Santa from finding other venues to rage against the Claus, including Twitter and other comment sections.
Here’s a sample of some of the online comments:
Chris Guy
I don’t understand why Santa would be Black. He is a white character. Just seems kind of racist to make him Black for the sake of having a Black Santa. I don’t really care but in our racially sensitive society, I don’t see how this is considered okay? O the hypocrisy.
John Schilling
MOA trying to kee the jungle beasts happy. Let’s see how this works out. The whole Christmas things is a pack of lies from start to finish, so nothing of real value is harmed. Take a seat and just watch. You know the Jungle Boogie will start up sometime, so relax.
Hilda Cankles
Turn in a Santa suit….ugh. Why can’t these people-shaped apes just stick to their made-up kwanza ritual.