WASHINGTON — Missouri Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Trudy Busch Valentine apologized on Wednesday for participating in a prominent St. Louis ball hosted by an organization that barred Black and Jewish people.
Busch Valentine was crowned the Queen of Love and Beauty in the 1977 Veiled Prophet Ball, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch archives. The ball is run by the Veiled Prophet Organization, an all-male club formed in 1878 by upper-class white people in St. Louis in response to a protest by railroad workers. The organization did not allow Black or Jewish members until 1979 and incorporated racist imagery in their ceremonies.
Busch Valentine apologized, saying she needed to acknowledge her past shortcomings. Her participation was first reported by The Intercept.
