Arkansas Man Puts Up Black Santa Outside Home, Receives Racist Letter Demanding Its Removal

When Arkansan man Chris Kennedy put up a Black Santa Claus inflatable in his front yard to spread the holiday cheer, the last thing he wanted was to ignite xenophobia. However, that's exactly what happened: he got a racist letter asking for its removal.

The man from Lakewood in North Little Rock said he has been installing the 8-foot-tall Black Santa Claus as Christmas décor ever since he moved to the neighborhood three years back but never faced such a problem, Fox 16 reported.

"I’ve done this every year and haven’t had any issues," he told the outlet.

Kennedy, who is Black, said he erects the Black Santa Claus in hopes to make the children smile. “I have this joy sign because that is what the holiday is, just a time for joy,” Kennedy told Fox 16. "Go ahead and laugh. I want kids to smile."

"The children love it and that’s what Christmas is about, it’s about children," he went on to add.

But on Monday, Kennedy said he received the anonymous letter, which contained racist phrases. In the letter, a person posing as “Santa” accused him of being dishonest to children. “Please remove your (racial slur) Santa. You should not try to deceive children into believing that I am a (racial slur),” the letter read, Kennedy told the outlet.

"You should not try to deceive children into believing that I am a (racial slur). I am caucasian (white man to you) and have been for 600 years. You being jealous of my race is no excuse for dishonesty," the letter said.

Kennedy said the letter, which he received in the mail via the USPS, left him "extremely angry." Kennedy told TVH 11 that he had initially presumed the letter was sent by someone from the Lakewood Property Owners Association but the logo that the letter displayed didn’t match theirs. "I saw that something was coming from the Lakewood Property Owners Association, but I thought it was kind of odd," said Kennedy.

Kennedy told Fox 16 that the neighborhood residents rallied in his support. Kennedy, who appears to take the humiliation with a grain of salt, plans to keep the Santa standing tall.