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.
“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.”
The Intercept also found that she appeared at the ball in 1979 and 1990.
Her participation in the ball came at a time when it was repeatedly protested by civil rights activists in St. Louis. A group called ACTION — Action Committee to Improve Opportunities for Negroes — crashed the ball in 1972 and unmasked the “Veiled Prophet.”
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.”
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.
