Santa Claus is coming to town
Nashville native to speak Thursday at TC
The man who was the first black Santa ever at the Mall of America this past Christmas will tell of his journey to become the top African-American jolly old elf during a program Thursday at Texarkana College.
Nashville, Ark., native Santa Larry Jefferson will speak at 12:30 p.m. in the Levi Hall Conference Room in the Business and Computer Technology Building as part of TC’s Black History Month program series.
Santa Larry, who’s worn the red suit professionally since 1999, said he learned of the opportunity at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., during a Santa conference in Branson, Mo. this past summer.
The owners of Santa Experience, which operates the photo studio in the mall, were looking to expand their team to include multicultural Santas. Santa Larry applied for the job, and the rest, he says, is all Christmas history.
“America is about diversity. It’s all about diversity,” he said. “It was a fantastic experience. They welcomed me with open arms.”
He said that there were some black Santas around before him, especially in metropolitan areas like Chicago, Atlanta and Houston, but they simply didn’t draw same the national attention as he did.
He’s been featured on the CBS Sunday Morning Show, the Steve Harvey Show, NPR, The Daily Show and the Tom Joyner Morning Show, among others.
Santa Larry added that children having a Santa that looks like them personifies the holiday and makes it a bit more special.
“It brings more to the Christmas party, to the season,” he said. “It brings hope, joy, love, caring and giving to the season.”
Being a professional Santa wasn’t his primary job for a long while, as he is now retired from the U.S. Army reserves and the Texas Workforce Commission in the Dallas area.
He recalls that his first Claus adventure was when he was 12, when he played Santa for his siblings, niece and nephew that year because his father was ill.
“He wasn’t feeling well and told me ‘I need your help. I need for you to be Santa Claus, but you can’t tell nobody,’” he said. Santa Larry unloaded the truck, brought the toys in the house, assembled a train set, and says he was exhausted by the time he realized there were only a couple hours left before waking the children for Christmas morning.
“To just see the facial expressions, how happy the kids were,” he said, “I was overjoyed with that happiness. It stuck with me until 1999.”
Santa Larry put the furry hat back on again that year for his brother’s children, surprising them at the door with gifts. He’s also an actor, and after hiring a Santa for one of his parties, he realized he could play the part and get paid to spread holiday cheer.
Now, he attends Santa conventions and family reunions across the country, and says he’s been well received.
“They all were happy to see me,” he said. “They told me ‘we’re so happy to see a Santa of color,’”
Next month, Santa Larry will travel to Gatlinburg, Tenn., for a Santa family reunion where all the Santas and Mrs. Clauses attend workshops, talent shows, dinners and other events.
He’s also writing a children’s book, which he hopes to have complete by this summer.
For his experience, he says that anybody can be Santa Claus, and that’s the real reason for the season.
“I’m just a messenger to deliver joy and happiness to boys and girls and adults,” he said. “For me, I’m just Santa.”
For more information about Santa Larry, go to santadallastexas.com.