52°F
weather icon Partly Cloudy
Las Vegas, NV
Nation and World

Mall of America, the biggest in the US, hires first black Santa

Larry Jefferson, playing the role of Santa, smiles with Auden Good and his one-year-old brother Ezra at the Santa Experience at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., on Thursday. (Leila Navidi/Star Tribune via AP)
Larry Jefferson, playing the role of Santa, poses for a photo with Kingston Strong at the Santa Experience at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., on Thursday. (Leila Navidi/Star Tribune via AP)
More Stories
A sign in front of the Food and Drug Administration building is seen on Dec. 10, 2020, in Silve ...
California farm recalls carrots after dozens of E. coli infections, 1 death
A social mobilizer washes up in preparation to help receive members of the community ahead of t ...
First US case of mpox variant reported in California
Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon ...
Israeli military: Blood supplies transported into Gaza
Fans argue on stands during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between France and Israel at t ...
Police arrest 2 after fan-fight at high-security France-Israel soccer match
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
December 3, 2016 - 9:26 am
 

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — The nation’s largest mall is hosting its first-ever black Santa Claus this this weekend.

The Star-Tribune reports 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 says they “want Santa to be for everyone, period.” With that in mind, he tells the newspaper he launched a nationwide search for a diverse Santa and found Jefferson at a Santa convention in Branson, Missouri, over the summer. He was the only black Santa among the 1,000 impersonators in attendance.

Jefferson tells WCCO-TV that playing the jolly old elf is “no big deal” to him, saying “I’m still Santa, I just happen to be a Santa of color.”

Jefferson will return home to play Santa in the Dallas-area after Sunday.

THE LATEST
A social mobilizer washes up in preparation to help receive members of the community ahead of t ...
First US case of mpox variant reported in California
By Jenny Gold Los Angeles Times

The first case in the U.S. of a more severe mpox variant has been confirmed in a person who had recently traveled to East Africa and was treated in San Mateo County.

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon ...
Israeli military: Blood supplies transported into Gaza
The Associated Press

COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, said the blood supplies entered via Kerem Shalom crossing and are expected to reach Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis in the coming days.

Smoke plumes rise after an Israeli airstrike on the Chouaifet neighborhood in southern Beirut o ...
Israel hopes Trump win builds Middle East ties, official says
By Verity Ratcliffe and Joumanna Bercetche Bloomberg News

A landmark deal that normalized Israeli relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and others was signed toward the end of Trump’s last presidency.