Trudy Busch Valentine, left, and on the right as the 1977 Veiled Prophet Queen, with the prophet and Lawrence K. Roos.Â
Photo illustration
Trudy Busch Valentine, a member of the Busch family ownership group of Grant's Farm, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com
By Daniel Desrochers | McClatchy Washington Bureau (TNS)
WASHINGTON — Trudy Busch Valentine, a Missouri Democrat running for U.S. Senate, says she is sorry she participated in an exclusive ºüÀêÊÓƵ ball hosted by an organization that did not have Black members until 1979.
Busch Valentine, a daughter of beer baron Gussie Busch, was crowned the Queen of Love and Beauty at the 1977 Veiled Prophet Ball. She was 20 at the time.
For more than 50 years, the Veiled Prophet Organization has been under fire for its exclusionary policies and what some people saw as racist imagery, including the prophet’s hooded attire.Â
in the Veiled Prophet Ball was highlighted on social media and by The Intercept, a nonprofit news organization, after she announced her Senate candidacy. She responded Wednesday with an apology, saying she needed to acknowledge her past shortcomings.Â
“I failed to fully grasp the situation,†Busch Valentine said in a written statement. “I should have known better, and I deeply regret and I apologize that my actions hurt others. My life and work are way beyond that, and as a candidate for Missouri’s next U.S. Senator, I pledge to work tirelessly to be a force for progress in healing the racial divisions of our country.â€
The Intercept also found that she appeared at the ball in 1979 and 1990. Her daughter, Christina Valentine Cammon, was at the 2010 Veiled Prophet ball, escorted by her uncle Peter Busch.
Busch Valentine’s participation in the ball came at a time when it was repeatedly protested by civil rights activists in ºüÀêÊÓƵ. A group called ACTION — Action Committee to Improve Opportunities for Negroes — crashed the ball in 1972 and unmasked the “Veiled Prophet.â€
The group apologized for its history in 2021, after a controversy over images of actress Ellie Kemper being crowned Queen of Love and Beauty at the ball in 1999. Kemper, too, issued a lengthy apology, saying on Instagram that she wanted “to apologize to the people I’ve disappointed†and to use her “privilege in support of the better society.â€
Busch Valentine, 64, entered the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate on Monday and officially launched her campaign Tuesday, after former state Sen. Scott Sifton said he was withdrawing from the race in support of her candidacy. Kansas City activist Tim Shepard on Tuesday also said he was withdrawing from the race to support Busch Valentine.
Retired Marine Lucas Kunce, 39, criticized her entry into the race, saying his campaign was about fundamentally changing who has power in the country. He has run a populist campaign focused on working class voters and has converted television appearances on MSNBC into a significant fundraising lead over other Democrats in the race.
Republicans are considered likely to keep their control of Missouri’s Senate seat come November. But with former Gov. Eric Greitens — who resigned in 2018 amid a sexual blackmail scandal and was recently accused of domestic violence by his ex-wife — leading in the polls, Democrats see an opportunity to make the race competitive.
The Veiled Prophet Organization traces its start to 1878 when ºüÀêÊÓƵ businessmen and other civic leaders sought to lift the city’s profile as a growing, affluent commercial hub in the wake of a violent railroad strike in 1877 that had convulsed the city.
Led by Confederate veteran Alonzo Slayback and his brother, grain merchant Charles E. Slayback, the organization modeled its efforts on carnival activities in other cities, including New Orleans’ annual Mardi Gras celebration.
Trudy Busch Valentine, a member of the Busch family ownership group of Grant's Farm, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. Photo by Hillary Levin, hlevin@post-dispatch.com