“While other black artists had recorded memorable versions of Christmas carols (Eartha Kitt’s “Santa Baby,” Otis Redding’s “White Christmas”), Hathaway’s anthem would be a black-authored, “for us, by us” production—a celebration not just of a season but of a people, and of a particularly Chicagoan brand of black striving and excellence.”

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-holiday-brilliance-of-donny-hathaways-this-christmas