Black Moms Talk About The Importance Of Children Seeing Black Santa

Representation matters during the holiday season. These moms are prioritizing exposing their children to a Black Santa Claus.

These moms know that representation matters — even during the holiday season — and they’re prioritizing exposing their Black and mixed-raced children to Black Santa Clauses this holiday season.

NBC News spoke with mothers of Black and mixed-race children about the importance of having a Santa Claus who looks like them for the Christmas season.

Erin Carpenter, the founder of Nude Bar and a mom of two in New York City, said she doesn’t have to look far. Her five-year-old daughter Mikel is a Harlem School of the Arts dance student. The institution — according to the mom and founder of the company that offers undergarments in all shades — grants them “easy access” to find a Black Claus through its holiday programs. The mom told NBC News, “I’m hoping that I can curate more experiences for my children that don’t feel so labored.”

“Look, we’ve come a long way in the world, but there’s still a lot more work to do.”

Carpenter said her mom did the same for her growing up, “I grew up with my mom making sure that there were Black Santas on our Christmas tree or even a Black angel on top of the tree.”

Mariyah Gerber, mom to two-year-old Aiden in Queen Creek, Arizona had a similar experience with her grandmother. She said to NBC News, “When I was a kid, my grandma used to paint Santas.”

She talked about the progress made to highlight representation during the holidays. Gerber added, “Now my son gets to grow up and there’s options if he wants to get a Santa Claus that looks like him. Not only do they just have Black Santas, but they’ll have mixed race Santas.”

Her husband, Peter Gerber, who is not Black, understands how important a Black Santa Claus is to his wife. When it comes to parenting, being on the same page can make all the difference in the world.

Her husband even surprised his wife with holiday gear that features Black Santa Claus in a video on TikTok.