By Brian Wheeler BBC News, Washington DC Published 9 December 2016
In the overheated post-election atmosphere, Santa Claus is seen by some as another cherished cultural institution under attack by the forces of political correctness. The traditional image of Santa, as a jolly, rotund, and white, character is deeply embedded in American culture.
“Going to a department store, sitting on Santa’s lap, all of that, is very central to a certain kind of post-war, white middle-class identity,” says Prof Victoria Wolcott, a history professor at the University of Buffalo, who writes about segregation.
“To challenge that, by having a Santa Claus of colour, disturbs people.”
It appears to have been disturbing people for more than a century, judging from local newspaper reports about “negro Santas”, which tend to veer from an amused “whatever next” tone to examples of flat-out racism.
Read more HERE.
WHY I’M NOT QUITE SOLD ON ‘BLACK SANTA’
BY ANDRE E. KEY DECEMBER 23, 2020
I’m not arguing for the elimination of Black Santa, or Wakandan-inspired Christmas stories, such as the recent Netflix sensation Jingle Jangle. Representation is important—particularly for children. Representation alone, however, doesn’t negate the effects of racism regardless of whether it’s the first Black president, first Black woman vice-president or even if it’s sitting on the knee of a Black Santa Claus. Read HERE.