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The magic of Black Santas and why they’re so popular in Dallas-Fort Worth

Caiden Black, 7, said she was nervous to see Santa. But she eventually warmed up to share a big secret with him: what she wanted for Christmas.

Caiden was visiting Santa at Chaunva LeCompte photography studio in Mansfield. Her mother took advantage of the opportunity for Caiden to take photos with Black Santa, knowing images of him are few and far between.

“I didn’t start paying attention to Black Santa until, actually, I married my husband,” said Caiden’s mother, Chelsea Allen Black.

Her husband had a Black Santa tree topper, and when it broke she looked to replace it.

“I couldn’t find another Black Santa, and so I bought a white Santa tree topper. And he covered him with a brown Sharpie,” Black said.

At the studio, Black and other parents shared that when Santa looks like their kids, it gives them a positive role model they can relate to.

Nastashia Stokes related to not seeing enough of Black Santas since she moved to Arlington. She remembers how she couldn’t find a Black Santa to take pictures with her now 10-year-old daughter.

But growing up in New Orleans, she took pictures with the same Black Santa every year.

Stokes and her boyfriend, Justin Peach (a.k.a Santa Justin), started Black Santa DFW last year, joining a handful of other Black Santas in the area. The company has started reaching out to photographers, who promote to their clients that they have Santa available for photos.

“My goal is just to become a staple in the community like the Santa Claus was when I was younger,” Stokes said. “He was known to our community in New Orleans, and so I want Black Santa — Santa Justin and Santa Allen — to be known to the DFW area.”

They have had events in Euless, Arlington and Denton among others. Their latest booking was at Chaunva LeCompte’s studio in Mansfield and filled with back-to-back sessions.

“I’d send out promotions for white Santa. And ... 90% of them were emailing back, ‘Are you having black Santa?’ So I was like, ‘OK, I gotta find a black Santa,’” photographer Chaunva LeCompte said.

Stokes said they’ve received a lot of interest from Black and white families, which she said surprised her.

“They don’t see him as Black Santa. They just see Santa, and that’s one of the biggest compliments,” Stokes said.

Peach fit the mold of the lovable big guy from the North Pole, Stokes said.

“It’s been very, very pleasant to see all the happy families and their responses toward seeing a representation of a Black Santa,” he said.

Karma Gardner-Jones brings her two kids, Konlan, 5, and Karma, 2, to take pictures with Santa every year, but this year was the first time with Black Santa.

“They seem just more excited, and it’s magical to them,” she said. “They have somebody that looks like them that they can look up to.”

Gardner-Jones said she was so excited that when she heard from LeCompte that Santa Justin was coming that she signed up for a spot within 10 minutes.

“For them to be able to have that experience, I feel like it’s important to let them know that magic can happen no matter what color you are,” she said.

She said she’s never done holiday cards before, but this year she said she hopes to use her kids’ photos with Black Santa to start making them.