# Mall of American hires a black Santa; racist come out of the woodwork **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 4, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864 "2016-12-04T20:29:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/21 "2016-12-05T02:48:49Z")
My memory may be faulty, but I remember seeing George Jefferson dressed as Santa on _All in the Family_. When Archie said, “Uh, hey there, Jefferson, you know that Santa is supposed to be white, there,” George replied, “When I was a kid, the man who filled my stocking was _black_!” ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/22 "2016-12-05T03:35:02Z")
In 1972, the Santa that came to my kindergarten class in my predominately White suburb was Black. Now, being Jewish, the Santa thing wasn’t that big to me, but I now really wonder how my classmates facing their “Yes, Virginia” questions dealt with it. (It also highlights that back then they would have Santa show up in public school classes for little kids). ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/23 "2016-12-05T03:39:53Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > My memory may be faulty, but I remember seeing George Jefferson dressed as Santa on _All in the Family_. When Archie said, “Uh, hey there, Jefferson, you know that Santa is supposed to be white, there,” George replied, “When I was a kid, the man who filled my stocking was _black_!” When I was a little girl, I asked my mother if Santa was white or black since Santa at the mall around the corner from us was black, but the Santa on TV is white. Totally straight-faced, she described Santa as having a skin tone a golden brown color, like my father’s. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/24 "2016-12-05T04:08:35Z")
I don’t know why these people don’t read the literature. Santa is AN ELF, and a right jolly one. He drives a MINIATURE sleigh with eight TINY reindeer. You can look it up. Elves can be any color. Brown is fine. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/25 "2016-12-05T04:12:49Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I don’t know why these people don’t read the literature. Santa is AN ELF, and a right jolly one. He drives a MINIATURE sleigh with eight TINY reindeer. You can look it up. > > Elves can be any color. Brown is fine. Yeah, but Oompah-Loompahs\* have to be orange with ridiculous hair. Like miniature Trumps. \*Yeah, I know they were different in the original edition of the book. At least Dahl had to sensitivity to change them, though. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/26 "2016-12-05T05:16:18Z")
I don’t get what the problem is. He’s just as creepy as the white Santas. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/27 "2016-12-05T14:50:01Z")
Some people get upset because their kids ask them why is Santa black. With a little imagination they can just roll with the flow and keep the myth going. As a large fat white guy myself I’ve been “volunteered” to represent Santa on many occasions. I once had a black child ask me who I was because I wasn’t black. She had seen a black Santa the day before. I looked down at my hands and acted surprised that I wasn’t. I told her that, when I wake up in the morning I never quite know how I will look. Sometimes I’m taller or sometimes shorter. Sometimes I’m big and round or sometimes I’m just plump. Sometimes I’m white and sometimes I’m black. But no matter how I look I’m always Santa. and\*\* russian heel\*\*, that attitude is why you always get coal. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/28 "2016-12-05T15:00:46Z")
I don’t want to pretend like I’m too good to partake in a little RO every once in a while, but can I just take this moment to rant against this tired and lazy content production from garbage outlets like rawstory? This is exactly the same as the “people are saying” segments on Fox News. Step 1) Something boring happens that 99.9% of the country doesn’t care about Step 2) Lazy journalist spends 10 minutes gathering up 6 examples of outrage from the .1% that does care, or at least is pretending to care to get a rise out of people Step 3) Categorize this small minority with the most overly broad descriptor they can get away with Step 4) Profit, literally We get it, internet commenters are trolls and say racist things. That doesn’t make it news. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/29 "2016-12-05T15:05:23Z")
Yeah, the explanation is obvious. Santa is magic. He changes his face. Heck, that’s why you may see one with a big nose and one with a little nose and all that. Or, if you’re more of the “Santa’s helpers” type, you can just say that some of his helpers are black. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/30 "2016-12-05T15:12:39Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > I told her that, when I wake up in the morning I never quite know how I will look. Sometimes I’m taller or sometimes shorter. Sometimes I’m big and round or sometimes I’m just plump. Sometimes I’m white and sometimes I’m black. But no matter how I look I’m always Santa. I think this is brilliant. Kudos. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/31 "2016-12-05T16:20:25Z")
Just tell the racists that Santa is in blackface. They should be cool with that. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/32 "2016-12-05T16:25:10Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Some people get upset because their kids ask them why is Santa black. With a little imagination they can just roll with the flow and keep the myth going. > > As a large fat white guy myself I’ve been “volunteered” to represent Santa on many occasions. > > I once had a black child ask me who I was because I wasn’t black. She had seen a black Santa the day before. I looked down at my hands and acted surprised that I wasn’t. I told her that, when I wake up in the morning I never quite know how I will look. Sometimes I’m taller or sometimes shorter. Sometimes I’m big and round or sometimes I’m just plump. Sometimes I’m white and sometimes I’m black. But no matter how I look I’m always Santa. > > and\*\* russian heel\*\*, that attitude is why you always get coal. Brilliant! And it’s the kind of things kids of a certain age (maybe 6 and under) would readily accept. Probably wouldn’t work on older kids, though. But brilliant nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/33 "2016-12-05T17:19:09Z")
As a kid, I knew something was fishy with all the Santas in different malls, but my parents used the “helper” theory – Santa had thousands of elves, some of whom magically could look like him and went to act in his stead at malls and such. It worked for me. I’m not sure how I feel about it any more, and I tend to think that when I have kids, I’ll tell them the truth (Santa is imaginary, but many children believe he is real). ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/34 "2016-12-05T19:21:02Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > But what color is snow? Depends on how dirty it is. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/35 "2016-12-05T21:11:04Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > As a kid, I knew something was fishy with all the Santas in different malls, but my parents used the “helper” theory – Santa had thousands of elves, some of whom magically could look like him and went to act in his stead at malls and such. It worked for me. > > I’m not sure how I feel about it any more, and I tend to think that when I have kids, I’ll tell them the truth (Santa is imaginary, but many children believe he is real). We let our kids figure it out for themselves - but let them enjoy presents from “Santa” and a tree that magically had presents under it Christmas morning when they were really little - the first three years they don’t have enough knowledge to separate fact from fantasy. The next two or three are magical for everyone, and then the next two are an exercise in developing critical thinking skills 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/36 "2016-12-05T23:57:41Z")
Saint Nicholas was born in Turkey. Stop appropriating Turkish culture, you Western imperialists. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/37 "2016-12-06T00:12:55Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > Saint Nicholas was born in Turkey. Stop appropriating Turkish culture, you Western imperialists. I wonder how many of these angry racist would even consider St. Nicolas a “real” white person, if he were alive today. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/38 "2016-12-06T00:34:54Z")
Hmmm… this may be one case where I can see the point of the racists. If I’m going to the mall (which I don’t do), and I wanted my kids (which I don’t have) to be photographed with Santa (which I think is silly) then I would want it to be a traditional Santa. Red suit, round belly, white beard, and, yes, white skin. It’s the same way I wouldn’t put presents around a lighted palm tree, or have his sleigh pulled by sled dogs. When the only point of the exercise is symbolism, you kind of have to get the symbolism right. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/39 "2016-12-06T00:55:19Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > Hmmm… this may be one case where I can see the point of the racists. If I’m going to the mall (which I don’t do), and I wanted my kids (which I don’t have) to be photographed with Santa (which I think is silly) then I would want it to be a traditional Santa. Red suit, round belly, white beard, and, yes, white skin. > > It’s the same way I wouldn’t put presents around a lighted palm tree, or have his sleigh pulled by sled dogs. When the only point of the exercise is symbolism, you kind of have to get the symbolism right. “Seeing their point” doesn’t make it any less racist. It just means you need to take a look inside yourself. Not even the Usual Suspects are here defending this. Being upset because someone is black is racism. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2016, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/40 "2016-12-06T01:24:26Z")
I seriously always thought the Asian Santa a la family guy would be hilarious: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drI3hIeczyQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drI3hIeczyQ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864.md?page=3)