Detroit’s Black Santa Needs a New Sleigh

Myron Benford has been playing Santa for 55 years and is quite probably the only one who delivers presents to your doorstep

By Charlie LeDuff

Detroit — Santa has two bum knees, a bad transmission, and is in need of a tax attorney to expand his charitable work. You see, Christmas isn’t one day of the year to Myron Benford, Detroit’s black Santa. It’s everyday.

“There are people in our community who have a lot of needs,” said Benford, 80. “But they have a lot of respect for themselves and are unwilling to ask. I try to seek out those individuals, and in doing so, try to uplift them. I try to do that with the hope that Christmas will last to the next day, and the day after that. What does it hurt to give of yourself?”

Benford has been playing Santa for 55 years now. His sleigh is a chopped Dodge minivan, painted red, with two life-sized reindeer welded to the grill. You’ll see him driving up Gratiot Avenue on Christmas Eve, an enormous man in a red suit and size 16 EE boots, presents in the cab, whiskers in the wind.

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