The Santa Line Slaying was a nationally publicized incident that occurred on December 21, 1971, in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Terrence Howard gave an interview on Oprah about the incident, but his account of what happened was later contradicted by his father, who accused him of trying to garner publicity for his own career.
But what is beyond dispute is this: 21-year-old Tyrone Howard and his pregnant wife took their three sons (one of whom was two-year-old Terrence) to see Santa Claus at a Higbee's department store in Cleveland, Ohio's Public Square.
Also waiting in the long line was 36-year-old Jack Fitzpatrick who was with three of his own children while his pregnant wife shopped with their oldest daughter.
The local newspapers reported the altercation as racially-motivated due to Fitzpatrick being white and Howard being black.
The Episcopal bishop of Ohio called the slaying an "atrocity," and compared it to the Biblical story of Herod the Great's Massacre of the Innocents.
[2][3] While promoting the film Crash on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Terrence Howard spoke about his father's involvement in the "Santa Line Slaying".
As the cast of the film discussed racism in American society, Howard gave an emotional account of the altercation, which he claimed was racially motivated.
[4][5] His father's incarceration caused the family to move from their suburban home to a housing project in an underprivileged neighborhood.
Shortly after Terrence's account of the incident, Tyrone gave an interview to the Cleveland newspaper, The Plain Dealer, in which he claims that his son misrepresented his story and maintained that the altercation was not racially motivated.
[2][4] According to Howard in his interview, after standing in the long line for about 30 minutes, he told his pregnant wife to take Terrence and find a place to sit down.
[2][4]After Tyrone Howard's revelation, Terrence's account of the events was removed from the Oprah website and replaced with a different part of his interview.
In response to Terrence Howard's statements, Jack's daughter, Peggy, who was nine years old at the time, maintained in The Plain Dealer that since Fitzpatrick was a seminarian, he was not a man who was prone to violence.
She also expressed some admiration for Terrence Howard for overcoming his traumatic childhood to become a successful actor.