A Black Santa Is Finally Coming To The Mall Of America

Until this year, there were only two things you couldn’t find at The Mall Of America: A centralized heating system (the mall’s warmth comes from windows, store lights, and the crush of human bodies pressing against each other as they rush from store to indoor amusement park to food court) and a black Santa Claus. And while you’ll be waiting a long time before that centralized air gets put in, the mall has finally done something about the lack of diversity when it comes to the spirit of the holidays. This year, a black man will be making his debut as the mall’s Santa.

Fusion reports that in the mall’s 24-year-long history of offering up free photos with the guy who brings you all your Christmas presents, there’s never been a black Santa before. This may seem like a huge oversight — and it is; considering that Santa is a fictional character (sorry, kids), there’s no rule that he’s gotta be white — but the change is a welcome one, giving kids who’ve previously never seen a Santa that looks like them (as well as kids who automatically assumed Santa was white just because) another “image” of Christmas that will help them feel more included and connected.

And unlike Megyn Kelly, who’s famously demanded that Santa be white forevermore, the kids seem to have absolutely no problem understanding that Santa isn’t always a white guy. In fact, the Santa in question, a man named Larry Jefferson who’s been playing St. Nick for more than 14 years, says that kids may be be bewildered but usually have no problem with the fact that a magical elf that can get deliver presents to every child in the world in one night may sometimes not be white.

From The Washington Post:

“‘Santa Claus?’” one of them, a boy who appeared to be about 4 years old, asked, according to Jefferson. “‘I didn’t know you were brown?’”

“I said, ‘Yes, I am brown,’” Jefferson said. “‘And Santa comes in many different colors.’”

“Oh,” the boy said, looking up at him in bewilderment, according to Jefferson.

“It’s always so genuine,” Jefferson said. “Kids are going to speak their mind at a young age.”

That scene happened in Jefferson’s home state of Texas — some boys saw him in full Santa regalia — but you can be sure that it will happen numerous times throughout his four-day stint in Minnesota, where he’ll be the centerpiece of The Santa Experience. And while a meeting with Santa is by appointment only, The Washington Post reports that business is already booming. In fact, people are traveling from far and wide to get an audience with a black Santa for the first time:

One woman told Jefferson she had been waiting 25 years to see a black Santa. Other families told him they had driven hours just so that their kids could meet him.

“They’re far and few between,” Jefferson, who is in his mid-50s, said of Santas of color. “That’s why I do it.”

And you know what? It’s a good thing he does, because check out this dude’s smile and how happy he’s making the kids:

No one let Megyn Kelly see this one, though! We don’t know whether she’d be able to handle it after this election season.