Veiled Prophet Parade and Ball
The Veiled Prophet Parade and Ball was a yearly civic celebration in St. Louis, Missouri, over which a mythical figure called the Veiled Prophet presided. The first events were in 1878 and were organized and funded by the Veiled Prophet Organization, an all-male secret society founded in 1878 by a highly select group of the city’s business, civic and governmental leaders. In 2021, the parade was replaced in response to criticisms about elitism and discrimination.
1885 Veiled Prophet Parade, with theme An Arabian Night The representation of the King of the Jinns, with an outstretched arm, first float, is bearing the Veiled Prophet and his attendants, beneath umbrellas. Second is "The Fairy of Poetry and Romance," with two giraffe representations, and, passing in front of the Old Courthouse (St. Louis) is a float with the theme "The Modern Story-Teller of the Orient". On the street, torchbearers carry lanterns.
Count Basie in 1974
Advertisement, 1881
Initial Veiled Prophet Parade, 1878, with the Prophet as a giant figure on a horse-drawn float. Men walked on the side to cast light with portable burners. (Image by Edward Jump from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, October 1878.)
Percy Green II, born in the Compton Hill neighborhood of St. Louis, is a social worker and Black activist in St. Louis, Missouri. He was active in the St. Louis chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and was a founding member of ACTION. He was also the plaintiff in the landmark civil rights case McDonnell Douglas Corp v. Green, which remains among the most frequently cited cases in American jurisprudence. Green has fought for equality and black inclusion in the St. Louis region for nearly half a century. He is a member of the Peace Economy Project's board.
Wax Figure of Percy Green at the Griot Museum of Black History
