Man Decides To Decorate His Yard With A Black Santa, Receives A Letter From His Racist Neighbor
Chris Kennedy from North Little Rock, Arkansas, just like many of us, loves putting up the decorations to get into the Christmas spirit. And one of his yearly festive traditions is a joyful inflatable figure of black Santa Claus. Chris told Today that “after three years of having no problems from anyone with our decorations,” this year, things went very differently.
The family of three, along with his wife Iddy and their 4-year-old daughter, were left in utter shock after one day, they received a hateful note left in their mail. Signed by “Santa Claus,” the typed letter featured extreme racist text and urged the family to “move to a neighborhood out east with the rest of their kind.”
First Chris read the note out loud on Facebook live, and later, shared it with a couple of news outlets. It soon blew up on social media, and many people stepped in to show Chris and his family their love and support. He said he’s been trying hard to stay positive and felt humbled by his neighbors coming together to have his back.
And as for the black Santa, there no plans to take it down. “The children love it and that’s what Christmas is about,” Kennedy told the press.
Chris from Arkansas made it a yearly festive tradition to put up a joyful figure of Black Santa on his lawn
Image credits: Chris Kennedy
But this year, he found a disgusting hate note left in his mail
Image credits: Chris Kennedy
The letter also had this picture of white Santa showing the thumbs-down
Image credits: THV11
Image credits: Chris Kennedy
The letter went viral after Chris Kennedy posted it on Facebook and shared the copy with the TV station KLRT. It’s not entirely clear who sent the envelope, but it had the return address of the Lakewood Property Owner’s Association.
After CNN contacted LPOA’s executive director Evan Blake, he stated that the Association had nothing to do with it. Blake also said he paid a visit to the Kennedy family and gave them a free membership to the LPOA. “We have never had anyone attack anyone based on their race. Racism is something that we do discriminate against and we will not stand for it,” Blake told CNN.
The Kennedy family have been living in the area for three years and have never had problems with their decorations
Image credits: Chris Kennedy
But neighbors stepped in to show their love and support for the Kennedys
Image credits: Chris Kennedy
Image credits: Chris Kennedy
Image credits: Chris Kennedy
Chris felt grateful for the overwhelming support he received and assured the black Santa will stay to fill hearts with joy
Image credits: Chris Kennedy
Meanwhile, Chris has his own suspicions of who could have sent him a hateful letter. “I feel like it’s a combination of politics and actual racism. I am not sure that it was solely about just the Black Santa display as much as it was legitimately just racism, in general.”
But for Chris, putting up a Black Santa figure every year has very personal significance. According to CNN, it brings back fond childhood memories of looking at elaborate light displays with his father, who died over 15 years ago on Thanksgiving Day. “Putting up Christmas displays reminds me of him,” Kennedy said of his father.
Image credits: Chris Kennedy
Image credits: Chris Kennedy
And this is what people had to comment about it
Saint Nicholas lived in the area of today's Turkey. Chances are rather high that he at least had a somewhat darker skin tone. Even worse, Santa Clause is a fictional figure. Purple skin would be equally fine than white one.
Just found this: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2004/dec/13/highereducation.uk
Load More Replies...This is so ridiculous. Santa is at minimum a demi-god with all the powers he's ascribed. Things Santa can do: Look into people's minds. Keep track of everybody's behaviours all the time (or maybe just every kid's?). Fly. Obtain presents for every child who celebrates Xmas. Distribute all the toys in a single night. Get into sealed houses. Appear in thousands of Santa's Grottos at the same time, looking slightly different every time (Maybe? I'm not acually clear whether people tell their kids those are the real santa) Things Santa can't do: HAVE A SLIGHTLY DARKER SKIN COLOUR ARE YOU NUTS THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE AND ALSO RACIST SOMEHOW!!!!! (That all-caps rant was being sarcastic, in case that wasn't abundantly clear)
not to mention, he eats a ton of cookies. I mean... *a TON* of cookies.
Load More Replies...Imagine having so little in your life that you have time to be offended by an inflatable Black Santa! What a saddo!
Let's get this straight a fictional character is the property of whoever owns that character. Santa Claus has no owner so Santa can be whatever you want Santa to be. For instance, in literature, James Bond has in part entered the public domain, therefore you can be creative and make the Bond you want. But I wouldn't suggest doing that with Disney characters.
This really pisses me off. You all know what I'm thinking about this person being a trump supporter that just came from church, but I'm not even gonna go there today so disregard that, please. Why can't people JUST BE GOOD TO EACH OTHER?? I can't believe someone took the time to shame this family's Santa. Well I can believe, but I don't want to believe it. The whole street and neighborhood should put out black and brown Santa's everywhere!!
... I'll put an atheist's Amen under this, if I'm allowed to...
Load More Replies...If santa was real, and he was black, he'd be Morgan Freeman and no one can convince me otherwise.
Of course there is only one answer; put up five more black santas.
A white neighbour put a Black Santa on his own lawn :D
Load More Replies..."Everyone 'round here know that Jesus was white, spoke English and carried an assault rifle to protect himself from communists and foreigners."
Mate, in my house Santa always had dark skin, a baldy head, glasses, and kinda looked like my father. So he's obviously a shapeshifter that appears in whatever form he thinks you'll find most comforting.
Black Jesus/ Olive Jesus/ Brown Jesus( high probability) / or any other colour But NEVER WHITE. Jesus was most probably an Iraqi who followed Judaism
Iraqi? What are you basing that on? According to the bible, he was a jew living in Nazareth, a couple hundred miles from the Iraq border. He was a Semite. I'm not sure why there's a big debate going on about it.
Load More Replies...Why do people do stuff like this like santa is a fictional charactor he can be black..muslim..asian any race damn he could be a reindeer
The racist neighbor used comic sans so that's how you know he's a moron
I never decorate with Santa, just lights and animals, but if I had heard about something like that in my neighborhood that I would search high and low until I found a rainbow Santa and put it in my garden. Hmpf
I'd fetch me a number of, ahem, diverse, Santas, and put them the shitty neighbor's yard. we could make it a neighborhood property.
Load More Replies...Turns out so many people in his neighborhood ordered black Santas the stores ran short. Also when people wanted to donate to him he stated he would rather have the money got to Ronald McDonald home. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2020/12/03/black-santa-solidarity/
Glad this got so much attention. As a white person, it's easy for me to forget that racism can be any where.
Oh man, just wait until racist neighbour finds out santa isn't real. Then hit them with the double whammy, Jesus was middle eastern (and you could say not real, but there's theories that a "Jesus" existed who was a healer in those times, though not the son of god of course)
Honestly as its Little Rock Arkansas, I'm more surprised by the three years of no trouble than the racist comment.
Maybe the racist was someone who had just moved in. Now they know that they don't fit the profile of the neighbourhood and should back to Bigotia or Bigotland or whatever the dang name of the place is.
Load More Replies..."I am caucasian and have been for 600 years" Apparently they are over 600 years old.
Such a creep! Why do some people have to be such haters? Life's ups and downs are hard enough without having to deal with that garbage!! I think Black Santa is just fine!! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Even if we go by the Santa that lives in the North Pole, he could very well have dark skin. How so? Snow reflects UV rays. Skiiers and other snow based sport people use protection to not get sunburns
I kinda hate inflatable lawn decorations anyway, but I hate racists even more.
What a Jerk! I am sick and tired of people bitching and moaning about cultural appropriation.
I am so disgusted at this that I am now determined to go buy a book (or a few) with illustrations of black people for my white kids, because I'm annoyed that I didn't realise it before our bookcase was lacking! They are 2 and 4 and they are going to grow up learning to treat every human as a human. Respect is all you need. If you can do more, be kind. If you can do even more, give love. And if you can do even more than that, teach others to do the same.
Whelp Odin going to be a tad miffed when he finds out that they call him "Santa" now. And I don´t think he would mind being seen as a black god, all the Allfather wants to know is if you have been brave and have fought well, for only then can you enter Valhalla.
Time to band together and get this family a number of really cool Xmas decorations. Make this a huge winter wonderland by next year!
Hell yeah, Penzey spices. Love the company.They've done quite a few good things. Not the least of which was calling out racism. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-gastronomy/ceo-who-called-trump-racist-penzeys-spice-mix
Anyone who writes in Comic Sans is immediately discredited, without even needing to read their racist rants.
Wow. People like this, what is wrong with you? I'll not go into the fact that JC likely wasn't white and his Da doesn't live on a cloud and whatnot. UK here. There's a guy three streets from me, starts putting up his lights in October, started doing it for nothing other than the love of Christmas. Word spread and now he collects for local charities. People come from far and wide to see his display. He's got inflatable Santas on his lawn - are they white, brown, black? I don't know. No-one who's come to look probably knows. It's not the point. To quote @RogerC137 : Could we, without relentlessly criticizing, let people have their pumpkin spice, and avacado toast, and their fandoms, and their D&D, and their too-early-Halloween-decorations, and whatever little harmless things in which they’ve managed to find a tiny shriveled flower of joy?
So white people and/or white fictional characters in movies, books and TV shows are not allowed to do "black face" anymore, with one fat, jolly, white exception. Got it. I think. This rampant neurotic and pedantic Political Correctness in the U.S is getting so confusing with all the illogic and hypocrisy involved. Someone needs to write a definite Political Correctness Rule Book ... U.S Edition.
As if the racism wasn't bad enough, they went and did it in f*****g comic sans.
The letter writer said Jesus lived 600 years ago? More like 2021 years ago and he most definitely had very dark skin! People are so small minded.. there actually is no such thing as 'race'... there's no actual race jean so it's all a construct of hate because one's different than another. When will we evolve beyond division and learn to work together for a peaceful and kind world.
It's so nice to know that people are supporting this black santa, but it's so rude to bully anyone for being black, it just proves that their as insecure as they say the black people are, BLM
Ok, first, Santa Claus is a fictional being and people can imagine him in any way they want. Second, the actual holy man he is based upon, Saint Nicolas of Myra was from - wait for it - f*cking Myra, which is in southern Turkey. He would definitely be considered a man of color if he lived today. I know it's not a very christian thing to do but I feel like punching white christians offended by the notion that religious figures could have been/were non-white in their stupid faces. Racist scum hiding behind religion. I'm catholic by the way.
Hot dog I'd buy six black Santas and put them up in my white ass yard. And then I'd give all but one to Black families to enjoy.
I'm glad his neighbours responded with love and support--that letter is the opposite of Christmas (the season that conspires in joy), and certainly--the whole spirit of Christmas, which is kindness and love. Now some thoughts: 1) accusing Kennedy of racism because of a black Santa is some illogical, evil mental misgymnastics 2) Wasn't Santa from Turkey? Clearly--he is not Caucasian. 3) Does this neighbour-parading-as-evil Santa freak out over Chocolate Santas? Does he melt them? write them evil letters? 4) While the letter writer clearly has an empty soul--I hope he is visited by a Christmas miracle a la Grinch, and his heart grows two sizes too big and he learns to love.
so sad. let the man do whatever he wants! I support black santa! people f****n suck sometimes, amirite?
Oh my ... can't we get over this? To put this into perspective - where we, as mankind, should be is at the point we start to acknowledge the vast equality among us and other mammals, or generally other animals - we should broaden the scope of ethic consideration, because it is the best fit to the facts we can find. Instead, people still insist on minor adaptions due to sunlight exposure of our ancestors ... really? This is wrong in itself, and it is wrong in indicating a world full of differences, while we actually live in a world full of similarities and equality. This is so effed up ... what is so attractive about moving backwards at all?
You are absolutely amazing - seriously ignore these morons - they need to have a good long look at themselves really !
How incredibly sad, that this person thinks he speaks for your whole community. So glad he doesn't....and what a coward, all big and tough in his "typed letter". Santa is whomever and however we imagine him to be, no matter his color. Wishing you and your family a very Happy Holiday!!
I was a white child growing up in Southern Texas.. one day I brought home a Christmas plate I had made at school and I had colored Santa black on it. My mother proudly used that plate for 20 years until it broke... it's a shame when someone tries to use a fictional character for children to spread hateful messages by assigning them a color. He should've kept that santa up at least until March just to irritate those jerks.
Santa Claus is whatever color he wants to be, period. He can turn black too, ya know.
Just a thought.. think about where Jesus was born, and to whom. The area he was born, lived in and grew up, was not white! It was in the Middle East! No one knows what color Jesus was, and it is t written anywhere, what he looked like.. So, white people just assuming he was white is just ignorance .. so, why can’t Santa be black? I think, it makes perfect sense! And any racists can go dunk their head in the sand!
It's not a black santa, it's just santa. Santa is all things to all men. He's a magical being that appears in many guises in many cultures.
The letter Mr. Kennedy received says so much about what is broken in our country (you just know that person is a Trump supporter). You just keep doing what you feel is best for you and your family. I think it's admirable that you want your daughter to believe in a Santa that looks like her - and as many have pointed out - how do you actually determine the skin color of a FICTIONAL character anyway? Your neighbor is a small minded, shriveled heart Grinch.
Because of the area he was born in and lead his life, he was dark-skinned. He was Jewish, therefore, he had to have had brown eyes and hair. Santa is left up to the imagination. My Santa looks like Sam Elliot.
What a Jackass. Santa Claus is Universal. When I was teaching, I put my Black Santa Statue out with the White Santa and I put out an Irish Santa.
The racist asshole called Chris a laughingstock. But in reality, it's the racist asshole who has become the laughingstock. And he did it to himself.
What one person does in their own yard is their own business (until they posts to the internet about it) - something that Bored Pansy and social media in general seem to forget when convenient to socio-political moral posturing. These things are always used to hold up a certain viewpoint at the expense of another, and it is never done with any opportunity even provided to look at other viewpoints. I'll offer one here, as this is being used as an example: a person who thinks that their children necessarily suffers for the fact that a certain role-model is of a different ethnicity to their own and who does not share their skin-tone is themselves being racist. Towards their children. The classic example would be to exchange the fundamental aspect and switch the roles - how would it be taken if Martin Luther King were depicted as a white man? That's how dumb this is. I think enough has been said about the letter, though mostly not with much attempt at understanding. I'll leave it at that.
I saw a black Elf on the Shelf in Target and I thought it was about time!!!
At least one of the originating legends for Santa is a Bishop from Anatolia. Maybe Hellenic, maybe not, who cares. Not white protestant, I can guarantee that. Also the racist neighbor said that he (santa) has been white for 600 years. What happened 600 years ago? Was he black in the 1300?
St Nikolaus was Turkish and must have had exactly the skintone of the left Santa. Medieval depictions show him as dark as the right hand side Santa. But then racism and ignorane always go hand in hand, so this kind of dumbfuckery is not surprising.
Wow. Just SMH. Yeah, that was a horrible thing to do to that family, I think that we Pandas can all agree. The Penzey's gift was really a good idea. (Disclaimer: I love Penzey's products, and I buy them regularly.) I received a job offer in Arkansas for next year. Should I be worried? -Rev Dr M, retired professor (and Native American with dark skin)
The actual Saint Nicholas came from the area that is modern day Turkey, and many historians believe he was probably dark skinned
”There are jerks everywhere, so we shouldn't bother to deter them” That's you. That's what you sound like.
Load More Replies...That's because whitewashing a POC character (like Black Panther) is wrong because POC have been oppressed routinely in America, so taking one of the few people who look like us in the media and making them white is messed-up.
Load More Replies...See? I was JUST gearing up to write a comment that it warmed my heart to not see idiots accusing this family of lying and planting the letter insulting themselves...then I read this hot garbage comment. There could be a video of a neighbor dropping the thing in their mailbox and folks like you would still accuse them of being liars. Sickening.
Load More Replies...You seem like a person who would send that kinda note to your neighbors lmaooo please go away.
Load More Replies...Saint Nicholas lived in the area of today's Turkey. Chances are rather high that he at least had a somewhat darker skin tone. Even worse, Santa Clause is a fictional figure. Purple skin would be equally fine than white one.
Just found this: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2004/dec/13/highereducation.uk
Load More Replies...This is so ridiculous. Santa is at minimum a demi-god with all the powers he's ascribed. Things Santa can do: Look into people's minds. Keep track of everybody's behaviours all the time (or maybe just every kid's?). Fly. Obtain presents for every child who celebrates Xmas. Distribute all the toys in a single night. Get into sealed houses. Appear in thousands of Santa's Grottos at the same time, looking slightly different every time (Maybe? I'm not acually clear whether people tell their kids those are the real santa) Things Santa can't do: HAVE A SLIGHTLY DARKER SKIN COLOUR ARE YOU NUTS THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE AND ALSO RACIST SOMEHOW!!!!! (That all-caps rant was being sarcastic, in case that wasn't abundantly clear)
not to mention, he eats a ton of cookies. I mean... *a TON* of cookies.
Load More Replies...Imagine having so little in your life that you have time to be offended by an inflatable Black Santa! What a saddo!
Let's get this straight a fictional character is the property of whoever owns that character. Santa Claus has no owner so Santa can be whatever you want Santa to be. For instance, in literature, James Bond has in part entered the public domain, therefore you can be creative and make the Bond you want. But I wouldn't suggest doing that with Disney characters.
This really pisses me off. You all know what I'm thinking about this person being a trump supporter that just came from church, but I'm not even gonna go there today so disregard that, please. Why can't people JUST BE GOOD TO EACH OTHER?? I can't believe someone took the time to shame this family's Santa. Well I can believe, but I don't want to believe it. The whole street and neighborhood should put out black and brown Santa's everywhere!!
... I'll put an atheist's Amen under this, if I'm allowed to...
Load More Replies...If santa was real, and he was black, he'd be Morgan Freeman and no one can convince me otherwise.
Of course there is only one answer; put up five more black santas.
A white neighbour put a Black Santa on his own lawn :D
Load More Replies..."Everyone 'round here know that Jesus was white, spoke English and carried an assault rifle to protect himself from communists and foreigners."
Mate, in my house Santa always had dark skin, a baldy head, glasses, and kinda looked like my father. So he's obviously a shapeshifter that appears in whatever form he thinks you'll find most comforting.
Black Jesus/ Olive Jesus/ Brown Jesus( high probability) / or any other colour But NEVER WHITE. Jesus was most probably an Iraqi who followed Judaism
Iraqi? What are you basing that on? According to the bible, he was a jew living in Nazareth, a couple hundred miles from the Iraq border. He was a Semite. I'm not sure why there's a big debate going on about it.
Load More Replies...Why do people do stuff like this like santa is a fictional charactor he can be black..muslim..asian any race damn he could be a reindeer
The racist neighbor used comic sans so that's how you know he's a moron
I never decorate with Santa, just lights and animals, but if I had heard about something like that in my neighborhood that I would search high and low until I found a rainbow Santa and put it in my garden. Hmpf
I'd fetch me a number of, ahem, diverse, Santas, and put them the shitty neighbor's yard. we could make it a neighborhood property.
Load More Replies...Turns out so many people in his neighborhood ordered black Santas the stores ran short. Also when people wanted to donate to him he stated he would rather have the money got to Ronald McDonald home. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2020/12/03/black-santa-solidarity/
Glad this got so much attention. As a white person, it's easy for me to forget that racism can be any where.
Oh man, just wait until racist neighbour finds out santa isn't real. Then hit them with the double whammy, Jesus was middle eastern (and you could say not real, but there's theories that a "Jesus" existed who was a healer in those times, though not the son of god of course)
Honestly as its Little Rock Arkansas, I'm more surprised by the three years of no trouble than the racist comment.
Maybe the racist was someone who had just moved in. Now they know that they don't fit the profile of the neighbourhood and should back to Bigotia or Bigotland or whatever the dang name of the place is.
Load More Replies..."I am caucasian and have been for 600 years" Apparently they are over 600 years old.
Such a creep! Why do some people have to be such haters? Life's ups and downs are hard enough without having to deal with that garbage!! I think Black Santa is just fine!! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Even if we go by the Santa that lives in the North Pole, he could very well have dark skin. How so? Snow reflects UV rays. Skiiers and other snow based sport people use protection to not get sunburns
I kinda hate inflatable lawn decorations anyway, but I hate racists even more.
What a Jerk! I am sick and tired of people bitching and moaning about cultural appropriation.
I am so disgusted at this that I am now determined to go buy a book (or a few) with illustrations of black people for my white kids, because I'm annoyed that I didn't realise it before our bookcase was lacking! They are 2 and 4 and they are going to grow up learning to treat every human as a human. Respect is all you need. If you can do more, be kind. If you can do even more, give love. And if you can do even more than that, teach others to do the same.
Whelp Odin going to be a tad miffed when he finds out that they call him "Santa" now. And I don´t think he would mind being seen as a black god, all the Allfather wants to know is if you have been brave and have fought well, for only then can you enter Valhalla.
Time to band together and get this family a number of really cool Xmas decorations. Make this a huge winter wonderland by next year!
Hell yeah, Penzey spices. Love the company.They've done quite a few good things. Not the least of which was calling out racism. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-gastronomy/ceo-who-called-trump-racist-penzeys-spice-mix
Anyone who writes in Comic Sans is immediately discredited, without even needing to read their racist rants.
Wow. People like this, what is wrong with you? I'll not go into the fact that JC likely wasn't white and his Da doesn't live on a cloud and whatnot. UK here. There's a guy three streets from me, starts putting up his lights in October, started doing it for nothing other than the love of Christmas. Word spread and now he collects for local charities. People come from far and wide to see his display. He's got inflatable Santas on his lawn - are they white, brown, black? I don't know. No-one who's come to look probably knows. It's not the point. To quote @RogerC137 : Could we, without relentlessly criticizing, let people have their pumpkin spice, and avacado toast, and their fandoms, and their D&D, and their too-early-Halloween-decorations, and whatever little harmless things in which they’ve managed to find a tiny shriveled flower of joy?
So white people and/or white fictional characters in movies, books and TV shows are not allowed to do "black face" anymore, with one fat, jolly, white exception. Got it. I think. This rampant neurotic and pedantic Political Correctness in the U.S is getting so confusing with all the illogic and hypocrisy involved. Someone needs to write a definite Political Correctness Rule Book ... U.S Edition.
As if the racism wasn't bad enough, they went and did it in f*****g comic sans.
The letter writer said Jesus lived 600 years ago? More like 2021 years ago and he most definitely had very dark skin! People are so small minded.. there actually is no such thing as 'race'... there's no actual race jean so it's all a construct of hate because one's different than another. When will we evolve beyond division and learn to work together for a peaceful and kind world.
It's so nice to know that people are supporting this black santa, but it's so rude to bully anyone for being black, it just proves that their as insecure as they say the black people are, BLM
Ok, first, Santa Claus is a fictional being and people can imagine him in any way they want. Second, the actual holy man he is based upon, Saint Nicolas of Myra was from - wait for it - f*cking Myra, which is in southern Turkey. He would definitely be considered a man of color if he lived today. I know it's not a very christian thing to do but I feel like punching white christians offended by the notion that religious figures could have been/were non-white in their stupid faces. Racist scum hiding behind religion. I'm catholic by the way.
Hot dog I'd buy six black Santas and put them up in my white ass yard. And then I'd give all but one to Black families to enjoy.
I'm glad his neighbours responded with love and support--that letter is the opposite of Christmas (the season that conspires in joy), and certainly--the whole spirit of Christmas, which is kindness and love. Now some thoughts: 1) accusing Kennedy of racism because of a black Santa is some illogical, evil mental misgymnastics 2) Wasn't Santa from Turkey? Clearly--he is not Caucasian. 3) Does this neighbour-parading-as-evil Santa freak out over Chocolate Santas? Does he melt them? write them evil letters? 4) While the letter writer clearly has an empty soul--I hope he is visited by a Christmas miracle a la Grinch, and his heart grows two sizes too big and he learns to love.
so sad. let the man do whatever he wants! I support black santa! people f****n suck sometimes, amirite?
Oh my ... can't we get over this? To put this into perspective - where we, as mankind, should be is at the point we start to acknowledge the vast equality among us and other mammals, or generally other animals - we should broaden the scope of ethic consideration, because it is the best fit to the facts we can find. Instead, people still insist on minor adaptions due to sunlight exposure of our ancestors ... really? This is wrong in itself, and it is wrong in indicating a world full of differences, while we actually live in a world full of similarities and equality. This is so effed up ... what is so attractive about moving backwards at all?
You are absolutely amazing - seriously ignore these morons - they need to have a good long look at themselves really !
How incredibly sad, that this person thinks he speaks for your whole community. So glad he doesn't....and what a coward, all big and tough in his "typed letter". Santa is whomever and however we imagine him to be, no matter his color. Wishing you and your family a very Happy Holiday!!
I was a white child growing up in Southern Texas.. one day I brought home a Christmas plate I had made at school and I had colored Santa black on it. My mother proudly used that plate for 20 years until it broke... it's a shame when someone tries to use a fictional character for children to spread hateful messages by assigning them a color. He should've kept that santa up at least until March just to irritate those jerks.
Santa Claus is whatever color he wants to be, period. He can turn black too, ya know.
Just a thought.. think about where Jesus was born, and to whom. The area he was born, lived in and grew up, was not white! It was in the Middle East! No one knows what color Jesus was, and it is t written anywhere, what he looked like.. So, white people just assuming he was white is just ignorance .. so, why can’t Santa be black? I think, it makes perfect sense! And any racists can go dunk their head in the sand!
It's not a black santa, it's just santa. Santa is all things to all men. He's a magical being that appears in many guises in many cultures.
The letter Mr. Kennedy received says so much about what is broken in our country (you just know that person is a Trump supporter). You just keep doing what you feel is best for you and your family. I think it's admirable that you want your daughter to believe in a Santa that looks like her - and as many have pointed out - how do you actually determine the skin color of a FICTIONAL character anyway? Your neighbor is a small minded, shriveled heart Grinch.
Because of the area he was born in and lead his life, he was dark-skinned. He was Jewish, therefore, he had to have had brown eyes and hair. Santa is left up to the imagination. My Santa looks like Sam Elliot.
What a Jackass. Santa Claus is Universal. When I was teaching, I put my Black Santa Statue out with the White Santa and I put out an Irish Santa.
The racist asshole called Chris a laughingstock. But in reality, it's the racist asshole who has become the laughingstock. And he did it to himself.
What one person does in their own yard is their own business (until they posts to the internet about it) - something that Bored Pansy and social media in general seem to forget when convenient to socio-political moral posturing. These things are always used to hold up a certain viewpoint at the expense of another, and it is never done with any opportunity even provided to look at other viewpoints. I'll offer one here, as this is being used as an example: a person who thinks that their children necessarily suffers for the fact that a certain role-model is of a different ethnicity to their own and who does not share their skin-tone is themselves being racist. Towards their children. The classic example would be to exchange the fundamental aspect and switch the roles - how would it be taken if Martin Luther King were depicted as a white man? That's how dumb this is. I think enough has been said about the letter, though mostly not with much attempt at understanding. I'll leave it at that.
I saw a black Elf on the Shelf in Target and I thought it was about time!!!
At least one of the originating legends for Santa is a Bishop from Anatolia. Maybe Hellenic, maybe not, who cares. Not white protestant, I can guarantee that. Also the racist neighbor said that he (santa) has been white for 600 years. What happened 600 years ago? Was he black in the 1300?
St Nikolaus was Turkish and must have had exactly the skintone of the left Santa. Medieval depictions show him as dark as the right hand side Santa. But then racism and ignorane always go hand in hand, so this kind of dumbfuckery is not surprising.
Wow. Just SMH. Yeah, that was a horrible thing to do to that family, I think that we Pandas can all agree. The Penzey's gift was really a good idea. (Disclaimer: I love Penzey's products, and I buy them regularly.) I received a job offer in Arkansas for next year. Should I be worried? -Rev Dr M, retired professor (and Native American with dark skin)
The actual Saint Nicholas came from the area that is modern day Turkey, and many historians believe he was probably dark skinned
”There are jerks everywhere, so we shouldn't bother to deter them” That's you. That's what you sound like.
Load More Replies...That's because whitewashing a POC character (like Black Panther) is wrong because POC have been oppressed routinely in America, so taking one of the few people who look like us in the media and making them white is messed-up.
Load More Replies...See? I was JUST gearing up to write a comment that it warmed my heart to not see idiots accusing this family of lying and planting the letter insulting themselves...then I read this hot garbage comment. There could be a video of a neighbor dropping the thing in their mailbox and folks like you would still accuse them of being liars. Sickening.
Load More Replies...You seem like a person who would send that kinda note to your neighbors lmaooo please go away.
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