0:01:00

Stafford Braxton was working as a photographer with a mall Santa when he noticed a trend: Black families would approach him and ask if there was a Santa their kids could visit who looked more like them. Braxton realized there was a need to fill and "Santas Just Like Me" was born.

Braxton talks with co-host Leoneda Inge about getting that business off the ground, the joys and challenges of the work and the persistence it often takes to recruit his Santas.

Later in the hour, Warren Keyes and Joe Griffin, also known as Santa Warren and Santa Joe, meet Leoneda in the studio to talk about how they got into their work with "Santas Just Like Me" and what it means to them to be part of this expanding group of Santas from Charlotte to Greensboro to Durham to Raleigh. (This interview originally aired on Dec 6, 2023.)

Stafford Braxton, founder of "Santas Just Like Me"

Joe Griffin, aka Santa Joe

Warren Keyes, aka Santa Warren

0:33:00

After more than 130 years, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina has gained full federal recognition. Due South co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with Sarah Nagem of the Border Belt Independent about that journey. We also hear from three past Due South guests who share their reactions to the news and their hopes for the future of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

Sarah Nagem, editor, Border Belt Independent

Brittany Hunt, Assistant Professor, School of Education at Virginia Tech

Ronny Bell, Fred Eshelman Professor and Chair of the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy at the Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Ryan Emanuel, Associate Professor, Duke University, and author of On the Swamp: Fighting for Indigenous Environmental Justice

Listen to Due South's previous conversations with Brittany Hunt, Ryan Emanuel, and Ronny Bell and his brother Joseph Bell, MD. Dr. Joseph Bell, the first Native American pediatrician in North Carolina, passed away in June.