Illustration by Hannah Agosta
Where’s the Black or brown Santa?” my husband, Brian, said from across the dinner table. We were discussing the plethora of opportunities to visit Santa Claus for our young daughters. I had suggested watching Santa Claus arrive at Mission Viejo City Hall perched atop a fire truck, riding a children’s train to the Santa at Irvine Park Railroad, or sitting before an elegant Kris Kringle as he regaled the children with stories next to a massive gingerbread village at Pelican Hill.
Brian’s question caught me by surprise. I took pride in my exhaustive research for family activities, but I hadn’t anticipated his request. Brian was challenging me to discard my preconceived notions and look at the world from his perspective as a Black man. He was inviting me to get #woke.