Rev. Dr. Leroy Barber, aka Black Santa PDX, has been in the Santa game for nearly two decades. He got his start in Atlanta with the idea of representing communities of color. “Let’s do a Santa that looks like the people,” Barber said.
Over the years, he’s made the rounds at shopping malls and churches, visiting with children in his lap and handing out peppermint candy canes. But when COVID-19 threatened to shut down the beloved holiday tradition last year, Barber got creative and the life-sized inflatable snow globe concept was born.
It was a hit. “We’re seeing almost triple the amount of people from last year,” Barber said. He estimates he’ll have met close to 1,500 children and families from the safety of his 10-foot-tall globe by Christmas. One reason for the uptick may be that families are looking for pandemic-safe activities.
But Barber has another explanation. “We’re in a year where representation matters to more than just people of color,” he said. “I think more people are interested in being a better citizen in the world.”
Black Santa PDX estimates that 70% of his visitors are children of color and 30% are white. Barber has also noticed a growing interest from adoptive, queer and biracial families that want their children to see a Black version of St. Nick. Some adults, he mused, even come to see him without children.
“Here is a place of acceptance,” Barber said. “In Santa, they’re seeing a representation of themselves in a space that’s joyful and playful and magical. It’s rare to get that.”
An added bonus of the snow globe, Barber has found, is that it adds an aura of mystery. “It’s kept the fun in going to see Santa,” he said. But in addition to fun, Barber wants to shift thinking for his young visitors.
“I hope it plants (the idea) that who they are can be something good in the world, represent something good in the world,” Barber said.
Your last chance to see Black Santa PDX this year is on Thursday, Dec. 23, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Aloha UMC in Beaverton. To learn more about Black Santa PDX, visit blacksantapdx.com.
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This article appears in Dec. 22, 2021.