Langston Patterson, a Claus with quite an effect

[kpete]

At South L.A. mall, a Claus with quite an effect
Langston Patterson is the main attraction at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza at Christmas: a rare black Santa in a sea of white ones.



For nearly a decade, Patterson has been the main attraction at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza during Christmastime: a rare black Santa Claus in a sea of white ones.

The mall, located in the heart of black Los Angeles, is one of the few in the country with a black Santa Claus. Some say Patterson is the only black shopping-mall Santa Claus in the Los Angeles area.

As visitors approached him on a recent afternoon, it was hard to tell who was more excited: the youngsters or the adults. The parents are the most loyal. They return with grandchildren, passing on a family tradition with a deep personal meaning.

"We need our kids to understand that good things happen in chocolate skin," said Til Prince, 50, of Palmdale, watching her granddaughter, niece and her niece's son pose with Patterson. "We are often bombarded with the opposite. We're not trying to exclude anybody, but [instead] celebrate our chocolate skin."


http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-black-santa-20131214,0,4464242.story#ixzz2nZpJo6w6http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-black-santa-20131214,0,4464242.story#ixzz2nZouc3r3