Santa always has a big belly, a beard and he spreads good cheer and the season of giving. It doesn?t matter if he is black or white.
Luke Durant Jr. has been playing Santa for the last 20 years at Mondawmin Mall, one of the only places in Baltimore City with a black Santa. Before that, he portrayed Santa at Lafayette Market, of which he was the president at that time.
“We needed a Santa and couldn?t find one,” he said. “And the rest is history.”
Durant is quick to let people know he isn?t your average Santa actor.
“We don?t just ?ho, ho, ho,? we give you words of wisdom,” Durant said. “We make you feel better. We want to make it an experience that when you leave us you?ll say, ?Wow that was nice!?”
“This is something Durant takes seriously; he takes it to heart,” Mondawmin Mall?s marketing coordinator Sidney Woods said. “I think that?s the reason why people come down every year to get a chance to see him. Children grow up and bring their children here.”
Durant recalls one Christmas when some small children who had recently lost their parents in a fire came to him.
“They asked me if I could bring their parents back, and I said to them, ?I can?t bring your parents back, but I guarantee that you will see them again one day,?” he said. “People come to us with all kinds of problems. I just try to make them feel better.”
Mondawmin Mall is one of the only places in the Baltimore area with a black man portraying Santa, but Durant and Woods both agree that that?s not the point of the tradition.
“We have to get away from this color thing,” Durant said. “I look forward to the day when Santa is not judged by his color but just by his heart.”
“He is African-American, but he is Santa Claus. He has embodied Santa Claus. That right there overshadows the race aspect,” Woods agreed. “He has outgrown the [label of] ?African-American Santa Claus,? he really is just a Baltimore landmark for the holiday season.”
“Santa embraces all children, everybody comes to the mall, not just African-Americans,” Durant said. “He loves everybody and wouldn?t have it any other way.”
Santa?s Arrival Parade
» Mondawmin Mall, 2401 Liberty Heights Ave., Baltimore
» Time: 2 p.m.
» Cost: Free
» More info: mondawmin.com
