Meet The Mall Of America’s First Black Santa, A US Army Veteran

Larry Jefferson, a retired U.S. Army veteran from Irving, Texas, is the first black Santa in the 24-year history of Minnesota’s Mall of America.

Each year, Santas from all across the country venture to shopping centers to hear the Christmas wishes of hopeful children, while their parents snap photos. But not all children identify with the European, white interpretation of Saint Nicholas. So, this year, Mall of America decided to change that.