Anheuser-Busch brewer Trudy Busch Valentine, who is running for the Democratic U.S. Senate seat, was crowned queen of a whites-only beauty pageant in Missouri in the 1970s, a time when the contest was popular among people of color and Jews access denied participate.
Trudy Busch Valentine, 64, won the “Queen of Love and Beauty” crown at the 1977 St. Louis Veiled Prophet Ball, an organization criticized in the past for its racist history and ties to white supremacy.
Photos from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch archives, revealed in a new report by The Intercept, show Busch Valentine, then 20, alongside the “veiled prophet” — a male member of the organization who has his face covered with a white veil, similar to the white hoods of the Ku Klux Klan.
The ball was organized by the Veiled Prophet Organization, an all-male club formed by Missouri’s elite in response to the Great Railroad Strike. People of Color and the Jewish population were not allowed to join the organization until 1979.
Five years before Busch Valentine was crowned queen, activist Gena Scott entered the ball and debunked the “veiled prophet”. Her car was later bombed and her home was destroyed.
The protests went on for years, with one person arrested in the 1970s for using an “unusable chemical spray” at the ball, and in 1977, the year Busch Valentine was crowned, “extensive and extraordinary security measures were in place says an article in the St. Louis Mail Order.
Trudy Busch Valentine won the “Queen of Love and Beauty” crown at the 1977 St. Louis Veiled Prophet Ball. Photos from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch archives, revealed in a new report by The Intercept, show Busch Valentine, who was of age 20, alongside the “veiled prophet” – a male member of the organization who has his face etched with him covered in a white veil, similar to the white hoods worn by the Ku Klux Klan (pictured).
The ball was organized by the Veiled Prophet Organization, an all-male club formed by Missouri’s elite in response to the Great Railroad Strike. Trudy Busch Valentine is pictured at the pageant in 1977
Anheuser-Busch brewer Trudy Busch Valentine, who is running for the Democratic nomination for the US Senate, was once crowned queen of a whites-only beauty pageant
Busch Valentine, who announced she would be running in the Missouri Senate race on Monday and officially launched her campaign on Tuesday, apologized and said she did not understand the situation and had to acknowledge her previous shortcomings.
The Intercept reported that Busch Valentine returned in 1979, where she entertained, and in 1990, when she was honored alongside other former queens, but did not compete.
“I believe in the importance of working together and healing divisions — and that starts with acknowledging my own past shortcomings,” Busch Valentine wrote in a statement to The Intercept.
“I didn’t fully understand the situation. I should have known better, and I deeply regret and apologize that my actions have hurt others. My life and work goes far beyond that, and as the candidate for Missouri’s next US Senator, I pledge to work tirelessly to be a force for progress in healing our country’s racial divides.’
The group apologized for their 2021 storyline after a controversy erupted over pictures of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt star Ellie Kemper, who was crowned Queen in 1999.
Busch Valentine announced her candidacy for the US Senate on Tuesday, shaking up an unremarkable Democratic primary in a solid red state
Kemper also apologized last year for attending a Missouri pageant in 1999, saying she was unaware of his “racist, sexist and elitist past” at the time.
“I deplore, condemn and unequivocally oppose white supremacy. At the same time, I recognize that because of my race and my privileges, I am the beneficiary of a system that grants unequal justice and unequal rewards.
“There’s a very natural temptation to convince yourself that when you become the subject of internet criticism, your critics are doing everything wrong. But sometime last week, I realized that many of the forces behind the criticism are forces that I have supported and agreed with throughout my life.
The controversy when her picture, originally printed in the St. Louis Dispatch newspaper, sparked controversy after one person called Kemper the “KKK Queen” for being crowned the winner.
While a historical image of the veiled Prophet, showing a hooded and robed person, has drawn comparisons to the KKK, there are no known links between the organization and Klansman.
Historians have previously pointed out how the organization was founded in the late 1870s, decades before the KKK was founded in the early 20th century.
However, the Veiled Prophet Organization has been criticized in the past for its racist history and links to white supremacy.
The organization still hosts a parade each day, renamed “America’s Birthday Parade.”
Ellie Kemper apologized after a photo (above) of her being crowned the winner of the St. Louis-based Veiled Prophet Ball at age 19 went viral on Twitter
Ellie was a 19-year-old student at Princeton University when she was crowned Queen of Love and Beauty in 1999
The Ceremony: The annual Veil Prophets Ball is still held each year, where the winner is crowned by a “Veil Prophet” (pictured left) – a member of the organization who covers his face with a white veil, so his identity remains secret
The Story: While a historical image of the veiled Prophet, showing a hooded and robed person, has drawn comparisons to the KKK, there are no known links between the organization and white supremacists
Busch Valentine announced her candidacy for the US Senate earlier this week, shaking up a low-profile Democratic primary in a solid red state.
Busch Valentine’s announcement comes amid widespread calls from Republicans that Eric Greitens drop out of the race after the Republican former governor’s ex-wife accused him of physically abusing her and one of their children.
The latest scandal renewed Republican concerns that Greitens might win the crowded GOP primary but emerge a damaged candidate in the general election, threatening the party’s chances of retaining a relatively easy Republican victory.
Some Democrats are already positioning the race as everyone else against Greitens. In an announcement Monday about dropping out of the Democratic primary, former state senator Scott Sifton Busch endorsed Valentine and urged other Democrats to unite behind her as “the best chance of winning in November.”
Selecting a woman as the Democratic nominee could also help flip the Senate seat if Greitens wins the GOP primary, said University of Missouri St. Louis political scientist David Kimball.
“Assuming Eric Greitens is the Republican nominee, that makes for a clear contrast in efforts to highlight allegations of abuse against Greitens and his treatment of his family,” he said.
Busch Valentine apologized and said she did not understand the situation and needed to acknowledge her past shortcomings
Busch Valentine, a 64-year-old registered nurse, described herself as a “nurse at heart” in her campaign announcement.
She is a widowed mother of six and said her eldest son’s death from an opioid overdose in 2020 was part of what motivated her to run for office.
“Matt’s death brought with it so much sadness,” she said in a video announcing her candidacy. “But it has also rekindled a passion in me to make a positive difference to others, this time on a larger scale.”
Busch Valentine, daughter of the late chairman of Anheuser-Busch companies, described herself as an independent candidate who was open to discussions with people with different viewpoints, although she did not go into great detail about her political agenda.
Forbes magazine listed the family’s net worth as $17.6 billion as of 2020
“Most families in Missouri belong to Democrats, Independents and Republicans. Mine sure does,’ said Busch Valentine. “But apparently we’ve lost our ability to be understanding and compassionate for each other. There is so much more that connects us than separates us. We just need to talk to each other one more time.”