December 14, 2013

In Los Angeles Mall, Santas of All Types and Colors

 

The LA Times reports today about Langston Patterson, a black man who’s played Santa at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza since 2004:

Patterson’s place in the Christmas traditions of black families seems only to have increased as the African American population of Los Angeles continues to decline amid waves of Latino immigration. The Crenshaw mall now has both a black Santa and a Spanish-speaking Latino Santa, a nod to the demographic shift. “We make a point to stay in tune with our community,” said Rachel Erickson, the mall’s marketing director.

The Times reports that Patterson is very popular with the local community, which is thrilled that their kids grow up knowing that Santa can be black as well as white. But Patterson is a rarity. A local Santa trainer says he’s had three black pupils out of 2,200 in the past decade.

And the best part of the whole story? It’s just a story. It doesn’t mention Megyn Kelly even in passing.

 

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