Most movies and television shows that feature Santa Claus almost always show the fictitious character as a white man who's eaten too many cookies in a red and white suit. While the depiction of Santa as such has gone on for years and years, a Texas mom by the name of Jihan Woods has created an app that shakes up the expectations of what Santa should like for the sake of her kids.
Jihan launched her app Find Black Santa Claus back in 2018 and the platform lists Black Santas across 35 states in the U.S as well as Canada, The Netherlands, Norway and London, England. “Specifically for Black children, its really important in racial or ethnic identity development that children see figures whether it’s in the media, mythical figures like Santa Claus, because it’s really helpful for their identity development,” Jihan said of her creation. “It’s important to me that [my children] experience diversity in all aspects of their lives, Santa included.”
Jihan raised $5,000 USD in 30 days on Kickstarter. "My ultimate vision is to become your go-to source for all things Black Santa. By hiring and managing a team of Black Santas nationwide even more families can be reached to experience Black Santa during the holiday season."