CAN SANTA BE BLACK? - Inspirational stories
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It happened in the kindergarten class, <br>
Right at the table where they were having snack. <br>
Joanie asked the question and they all sat back: <br>
"Mr. Slater? Can Santa Claus be black?" <br> <br>
Poor Mr. Slater didn't know what to say, <br>
Christmas vacation was twenty days away. <br>
There were snowflakes to cut and <br>
Window wreaths to be hung, <br>
Christmas cards to be painted, <br>
And Christmas songs to be sung. <br> <br>
He hadn't time to think <br>
What Christmas was about, <br>
In twenty more days, <br>
School would be out! <br>
Why couldn't they wait <br>
And ask their questions then, <br>
When mommies and daddies <br>
Were home to answer them? <br>
"Mr. Slater? Can Santa be thin? <br>
Is Santa Clause always a him?" <br> <br>
Mr. Slater looked at twenty pairs of eyes, <br>
Twenty children of every shape and size. <br>
He ate a bit of cracker and finished his drink. <br>
"Children," he said, <br>
"I'll need some time to think." <br>
As soon as class was over, <br>
He ran down the hall, <br>
Skidded 'round a corner, <br>
Crashed into a wall. <br>
Ran up the steps to the second floor, <br>
Rapped on the window of the principal's door. <br> <br>
"Ms. Frazer, Ms. Frazer, what can I do? <br>
The children asked these questions <br>
That now I ask of you: <br> <br>
Can Santa Claus be black? <br>
Can Santa Claus be thin?<br>
Does Santa always have to be a him?"<br> <br>
"Mr. Slater, it's a difficult task <br>
To find answers to the questions you ask. <br>
I think with these I'll need some assistance, <br>
But I'll get you the answers with a little persistence." <br> <br>
Ms. Frazer turned in her swivel chair, <br>
Picked up the phone and dialed Mr. Dare. <br>
Mr. Dare was the head of the P.T.A., <br>
He called for a meeting the very next day. <br> <br>
"Thank you for coming," <br>
He began with a greeting. <br>
"I'd like to get right to the point of this meeting. <br>
Mr. Slater, in charge of the kindergarten class, <br>
Needs the answers to some questions <br>
And he needs them fast." <br> <br>
"Can Santa be black? <br>
Can Santa be thin? <br>
Does Santa always have to be a him?" <br> <br>
The parents didn't know what to say, <br>
Christmas vacation was nineteen days away. <br>
There were cookies to bake and lights to string, <br>
Gifts to wrap and carols to sing. <br> <br>
They hadn't time to think <br>
What Christmas was about, <br>
In nineteen more days <br>
School would be out! <br>
Why did children have to ask questions when <br>
Parents had no time to sit and answer them? <br> <br>
"Well, Parents? <br>
Are there any suggestions? <br>
Do we have any answers <br>
To these difficult questions?" <br> <br>
"Who knows best <br>
What Christmas is about? <br>
Let's ask Santa!" <br>
Someone called out in a shout. <br> <br>
The secretary of the P.T.A. <br>
Sent a letter to Santa the very next day. <br>
The reply came back very, very fast, <br>
Addressed to Mr. Slater <br>
And the kindergarten class. <br> <br>
Dear Mr. Slater, Dear Girls, Dear Boys, <br>
Once a storywriter caught me bringing you toys. <br>
The year he spied me opening my sack, <br>
My skin was white, my boots were black. <br>
You probably know how that story goes . . . <br>
I laid a finger aside my nose? <br>
All these years, needlessly, <br>
That story worries children who don't have a chimney. <br>
All year long I listen to the news, <br>
Read people's thoughts, see people's views. <br>
At the end of the year, when I see what's needed most, <br>
I take that shape, like a Christmas ghost. <br>
I can pass through keyholes, windows and locks, <br>
Apartment buildings, hospitals, tents, and trailer lots. <br> <br>
One year I used a wheelchair in place of my sleigh, <br>
Once I was blind and had to feel my way. <br>
It's hard to understand when I don't leave a toy: <br>
You can't unwrap a gift like hope or health or joy. <br>
My skin has been black, white, yellow, red, brown; <br>
My eyes have been slanted, crossed, and round. <br>
Sometimes I have been a she: <br>
All these things are a part of me. <br>
You may not believe all this is true, <br>
But that's okay, boys and girls, because . . . <br>
I believe in you.
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