There are many holiday traditions here at WGBH that our employees hold dear: recording our holiday greetings to run on-air, engaging in a heated Yankee Swap with colleagues, and working on our holiday TV special. But one of the most treasured traditions is one that happens inside a cozy office adjacent to our local newsroom: Callie Crossley's Black Santa collection. As WGBH radio host Henry Santoro exclaims at the beginning of each season: "Here comes Blanta!"
For decades, Callie, who is the host of WGBH's Under the Radar with Callie Crossley, has collected Black Santas, and this time of year she proudly displays them around her office. She was initially drawn to a Santa on display in a family friend's living room, who "fit in my real brown-skinned girl life." After the visit, the friend gave the ceramic Black Santa to Callie...and the rest is history. Callie has sourced her Santas from all over the country, and as her collection has grown (she's lost count of the total number, but it's in the dozens) friends and family have contributed, too.
We sat down with Callie to learn more about her collection, and the important conversations it inspires throughout the year. Watch our conversation above, and explore Callie's collection in the Instagram story below.
