Alabama State University Hornets Proud Santa Claus Figurine

It's a great day to be a Hornet, and this Christmas, Santa is wearing the colors. The Alabama State University Hornets Proud Santa Claus Figurine dresses a 12-inch Black Santa Claus in a gold knit sweater stitched with the ASU hornet logo, then puts a Hornets pennant in his hand as if he walked out of the Turkey Day Classic and straight into the holidays. For Hornet Nation, the season that kicks off with Thanksgiving in Montgomery now finishes on the mantel.

Santa in Bama State Gold

A long gold stocking cap trimmed in white faux fur frames Santa's sculpted brown face, rosy cheeks, and full, curly black beard. Across his chest, the ASU letters and hornet are embroidered in black and gold. One hand raises a two-tone pennant, gold with the ASU hornet on one side and white with HORNETS on the other, alongside a small green wreath dotted with yellow and white berries. The other holds his naughty and nice list, a long cloth scroll stitched with names. A gold twisted cord carries a dark green velvet sack over his shoulder, packed with a plush teddy bear in a gold ribbon, a frosted mini Christmas tree, a small gold horn, and berry picks. White felt pants with fur cuffs and black boots complete the look.

The Legacy Behind the Hornet

Alabama State University began in 1867 in Marion, Alabama, when nine formerly enslaved men, remembered today as the Marion Nine, raised $500 to found the Lincoln Normal School. It opened that November with 113 students, became a state-supported institution in the 1870s, moved to Montgomery in 1887, and earned university status in 1969. The campus sat at the center of the Montgomery Bus Boycott: English professor Jo Ann Robinson and two of her students used a college mimeograph machine overnight to print the leaflets that called Black Montgomery off the buses in December 1955. Bama State alumni include Rev. Ralph David Abernathy, who earned his mathematics degree there in 1950 and stood beside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, who led the movement in Birmingham; and attorney Fred Gray, who defended Rosa Parks.

Hornet pride runs on tradition. The Mighty Marching Hornets, who march under the motto "The Price of Glory Is High," appeared in Beyoncé's 2019 Homecoming special and that same year became the first HBCU band to lead the Rose Parade in Pasadena. Every Thanksgiving, alumni come home to Montgomery for the Turkey Day Classic against Tuskegee, a holiday rivalry played since 1924 that the university calls the first Black college football classic.

Christmas Decor for Hornet Nation

Set this African American Santa Claus figurine on a fireplace mantel, an office bookshelf, a dorm desk, or the table where the family gathers after the Classic. He makes an easy Christmas gift for the ASU graduate who can't make it home for the holidays, the new Hornet finishing a first semester, or the parent whose house already runs black and gold. Collect the HBCU Proud Santas series, and a family split between rival schools can settle the argument on one mantel.