“Charles is showing kids in our community something they've waited their entire lives to see — themselves, in the chair, in red.”
— DeafNation
DeafNation — the largest Deaf-centered media organization in the United States — conducted a long-form interview with Charles Graves in late 2024, framing him as one of the most visible Deaf cultural figures of the year. The conversation moved well beyond the holiday story: DeafNation pressed Graves on what it means to be the first Deaf graduate of the International University of Santa Claus, what responsibility that places on him, and what he hopes for the second, third, and tenth Deaf Santa Claus to come.
The interview also surfaced material that had not appeared in other coverage — Graves’s own childhood, including the Randolph Air Force Base moment at age five that he often points to as the origin of his connection to Christmas, his 25 years as a night residential educator at the Texas School for the Deaf, and the August 2024 acute pancreatitis hospitalization that he had recovered from in time for the film’s premiere weekend.
For the Deaf community, the DeafNation piece served as the canonical interview — the place readers could go to understand Graves not just as a public figure but as a member of the community he serves.
