On Oct. 3, 1969, black activists picketed the Veiled Prophet Ball, protesting that the organization was racist and elitist. A man dressed as the "Black Veiled Prophet" and his queen joined the protest. Here was our original coverage of the event.
Four members of ACTION, civil rights organization, including the Black Veiled Prophet and his queen, were arrested last night on charges of peace disturbance at the entrance to Kiel Auditorium, scene of the Veiled Prophet Ball.
Across Fifteenth Street about 30 demonstrators marched and chanted as those arrested were taken to police patrol wagons. Percy Green, leader of ACTION, was not arrested last night. He led the demonstrators in a circular march.
Green, speaking over a bullhorn, shouted "white racism must go, the Veiled Prophet must go."
Included also were chants that the Governor, Mayor, Catholic cardinal, and assorted corporations and corporate presidents must go. There were about 75 uniformed and plainclothes police on duty outside Kiel Auditorium when the demonstration was under way. Those arrested, after they tried to enter the auditorium, identified themselves as Carl Jackson, 26 years old, the Black Veiled Prophet; his queen, Miss Madame Carol, 21; Mrs. Lois Greer, 27, Queen of Human Justice, and George Johnson, 31. All gave the same address, 4154 Newstead Avenue, ACTrON's headquarters.
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They were booked suspected of peace disturbance and released on $500 bond. A few hours later, after their release, they were greeted with handshakes at the Velvet Plastic Ball, a parody-party held at the National Guard Armory. Jackson and Miss Carol were arrested first when they walked across Fifteenth Street to the entrance of the auditorium and presented a slip of blue paper to a Veiled Prophet Ball officer. They said the blue stationary was an invitation.
"We want to get in," Jackson said. "This is a public premise." They were told that the so-called invitation was not in order and were arrested when they did not leave.
Minutes later, Mrs. Greer, dressed in a flowing African robe, was arrested. Johnson was arrested when he asked police if he could use the auditorium's washroom facilities.
Throughout, the demonstrators, both Negro and white, continued to march, taunting persons arriving at the ball with shouts of "Back to Ladue, clowns, pigs."
"The people down here are starving to death and you drag that stuff down here . . . you pigs," one demonstrator shouted over a bullhorn.
They carried picket signs such as "Let 'Em Eat Cake, Veiled Profit," and "Entertainment for Rich Paid for by Poor."
About 10 members of a group called the Warlords, all wearing black berets, lined Fifteenth Street facing the auditorium. One of the Warlords said they were protecting the demonstrators.
After those arrested were taken to Police Headquarters, Green took the remaining group on a march past the front of Kiel Auditorium to Fourteenth Street, where they were stopped by police. Officers made the group cross to the other side of the street, as they continued on to Police Headquarters.
When Green and his group arrived at Twelfth Street and Clark Avenue they were refused entrance to Police Headquarters. Officers said the building was secured.
"Secured from what?" Green asked. "Secured from you," was the reply.
The history of the Veiled Prophet
Veiled Prophet: Symbol of wealth, power and, to some, racism
1878 Veiled Prophet
1925 Veiled Prophet
In his 46th visit to St. Louis, the Veiled Prophet crowned Maud Streett the queen of love and beauty. The ball was held at the Coliseum; Streett was the daughter of the 1902 queen. Post-Dispatch archive photo
1934 - Veiled Prophet
Children, teens and adults await the start of the Veiled Prophet parade on Oct. 3, 1934. An article about the parade noted that some in the crowd created a "rain of peas and BB shot." Post-Dispatch archive photo
1938 - Veiled Prophet
A 1938 portrait shows the Veiled Prophet in full regalia. In the first decades of the ball, it was held in October.
1947 Veiled Prophet parade
A scene from the October 1947 Veiled Prophet parade shows the size of the crowd at Grand and Olive. Post-Dispatch archive photo
1948 Veiled Prophet
While her father was still president, Margaret Truman (center) attended the 1948 Veiled Prophet Ball. She watched the pageant from a special box with (from left, front row) Evelyn Snyder, the wife of the Treasury secretary, and Drucie Snyder. Behind the women, on the left, is Secretary John W. Snyder. Post-Dispatch archive photo
1948 Veiled Prophet
Helen Conant, left, with Drucie Snyder, the daughter of the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, and Margaret Truman, right. Post-Dispatch archive photo
1949 Veiled Prophet
Carol Gardner, escorted by John M. Olin, bows before the Veiled Prophet at the 1949 ball at Kiel Auditorium. Gardner's paternal grandfather was a Missouri governor; her maternal grandfather was an early St. Louis auto manufacturer, then the Federal Housing Administrator. Post-Dispatch archive photo
1950 Veiled Prophet
The parade and ball were both televised. The first televised ball was in 1946. In 1950, KSD-TV broadcast the ball to the 175,000 homes in St. Louis that had a TV. The broadcast was also sent to 40 stations in the country through Columbia Broadcasting Co.; it was estimated that 20 million people saw the show. Post-Dispatch archive photo
1950 Veiled Prophet
Eleanor Koehler is crowned at the 1950 Veiled Prophet Ball. Her escort is William H. Luyties. Post-Dispatch archive photo
1950 Veiled Prophet
The queen and the special maids of honor at the 1950 ball: (from left) Florence Weld, Jean Lewis, Eleanor Koehler (the queen), Celeste Smith and Anne McCandless. Post-Dispatch archive photo
1959 Veiled Prophet
The Veiled Prophet is escorted by his "Bengal Lancers" in 1959. Post-Dispatch archive photo
1963 Veiled Prophet
Before the September 1963 ball, Mary Flaven (left) gets help with her formal gloves from Trent Barnes (right) and Ann Weise. Post-Dispatch archive photo
1969 Activists picket the Veiled Prophet Ball
Percy Green of ACTION (Action Council to Improve Opportunities for Negroes) heralds the arrival on Oct. 3, 1969, of the "black veiled prophet" and his queen at Kiel Auditorium, where the annual Veiled Prophet Ball was taking place inside. ACTION frequently picketed the Veiled Prophet organization as racially exclusive and elitist. In 1972 in the same building, it engineered an unmasking of the man playing the role of the veiled prophet . (Gene Pospeshil/Post-Dispatch)
1972 Veiled Prophet
During the December 1972 Veiled Prophet Ball, Gena Scott yanked the veil off the Prophet. Scott was protesting with ACTION, a civil rights group. Scott and another white protester, Jane Sauer, entered the ball dressed in formal gowns, then dropped leaflets denouncing the ball to provide distraction as Scott approached the Prophet. The mysterious man was revealed to be Tom K. Smith Jr., a vice president of Monsanto, but the Post-Dispatch and Globe-Democrat didn't print his identity at the time. In this photo, the prophet readjusts his disguise. Post-Dispatch archive photo
1974 Veiled Prophet
The 1974 queen of love and beauty, Susan Smith, is escorted down the aisle by the Veiled Prophet. The ball was held at the Chase Park Plaza Holte, in the Khorassan Room. Since 1936, the ball was at Kiel Auditorium. ACTION, a Civil Rights group, sued the city, which owned the venue, alleging it was condoning racism by allowing the ball to be held there. City officials settled the suit with the group. Post-Dispatch archive photo
1975 Veiled Prophet
In 1975, Patrick Dougherty, a member of ACTION, unfurled a banner onstage at the Veiled Prophet Ball. He was escorted out of the event. Post-Dispatch archive photo
1976 Veiled Prophet
Annette Foster, an ACTION protester, is seized after spraying an irritant on people at the 1976 Veiled Prophet ball. Foster and another woman, Jessie Baker, were arrested. In 1978, Foster was convicted of assault. Post-Dispatch archive photo
1976 Veiled Prophet
A protester sprays an irritant during the procession at the 1976 Veiled Prophet Ball. Post-Dispatch archive photo
1997 - Veiled Prophet
Christina Clark (left) and Candice Nance look over the instructions before being presented at the December 1997 ball. The first black members of the Veiled Prophet Organization joined in 1979. Post-Dispatch archive photo
Dec. 24, 1999: Veiled Prophet Ball
Ellie Kemper became the 105th queen of love and beauty when she was crowned at the Adam's Mark Hotel's ballroom in 1999.
Fair St. Louis - VP Parade in Forest Park
Merrill Clark Hermann (center), the crowned Queen of Love and Beauty at the 130th annual Veiled Prophet Ball, rides in her float during the VP Parade as part of the Fair St. Louis festivities on Saturday, July 4, 2015 at Forest Park in St. Louis. Photo by Huy Mach, hmach@post-dispatch.com
2016 parade float
The Veiled Prophet float with Charlotte Capen Jones, the Queen of Love and Beauty, proceeds down Market Street Saturday during the 2016 Veiled Prophet Parade on July 2, 2016. Photo by Jerry Naunheim Jr.
