Dallas Man Becomes Mall Of America's 1st Black Santa
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BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (CBS/AP) - The nation's largest mall is hosting its first-ever black Santa Claus this weekend.
The Mall of America in suburban Minneapolis hired Larry Jefferson to play Kris Kringle from Thursday to Sunday as part of its Santa Experience.
Santa Experience co-owner Landon Luther said that they "want Santa to be for everyone, period." With that in mind, he said, he launched a nationwide search for a diverse Santa and found Jefferson at a Santa convention in Branson, Missouri, over the summer.
Jefferson was the only black Santa among the 1,000 impersonators in attendance.
Playing the jolly old elf is "no big deal," Jefferson told CBS Minnesota earlier this week. "I'm still Santa, I just happen to be a Santa of color."
Jefferson will return home to play Santa in North Texas after Sunday.
"It gives them something to identity with, but Santa is still just Santa," Jefferson said. "Just Saturday, I was doing an event, and one child said, 'Santa, you're brown,' and I said, 'Yes, I am, but Santa comes in many different colors.' He said, 'Oh,' so I gave him a candy cane, he ran off with other kids."
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