Ellie Kemper was trending recently on Twitter, but not because people were having a flare-up of nostalgia for The Office or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Today is my first day working as Ellie Kemper\u2019s publicist! Truly a dream job. My phone has been blowing up all day with what I assume are congratulations but I have been so busy. Time to take a sip of this piping hot coffee and check the trending topics online!— andy (@andy) 1622502572
No, she was trending because news surfaced that Kemper had once been crowned Queen of Love and Beauty at the Veiled Prophet Ball — an exclusive St. Louis party hosted by an organization that has historically been accused of upholding racist power structures.
Yesterday, Kemper finally addressed her participation in the event in an Instagram post that is surprisingly well thought out as far as celebrity apologies go.
"When I was 19 years old, I decided to participate in a debutante ball in my hometown," she wrote. "The century-old organization that hosted the debutante ball had an unquestionably racist, sexist and elitist past. I was not aware of the history at the time, but ignorance is no excuse. I was old enough to have educated myself before getting involved. I unequivocally deplore, denounce, and reject white supremacy," she continued. "At the same time, I acknowledge that because of my race and my privilege, I am the beneficiary of a system that has dispensed unequal justice and unequal rewards."
Kemper added, "I believe strongly in the values of kindness, integrity and inclusiveness. I try to live my life in accordance with these values. If my experience is an indication that organizations and institutions with pasts that fall short of these beliefs should be held to account, then I have to see this experience in a positive light."
The Veiled Prophet Organization, which hosts the event, has no overt ties to the KKK, but that didn't stop Twitter users from losing their minds over Kemper's involvement. It all began when a user posted a photo of Kemper from when she won the pageant in 1999. "So was no one gonna tell me Ellie Kemper aka Kimmy Schmidt was crowned KKK queen in 1999?" the user wrote.
So was no one gonna tell me Ellie kemper aka kimmy Schmidt was crowned KKK queen in 1999pic.twitter.com/QdHJ6wGZGv— charlie (@charlie) 1622496484
The Veiled Prophet has been around since 1870. According to the St. Louis government's website, "Created in 1878 by white male community leaders, the Mystic Order of the Veiled Prophet of the Enchanted Realm sought to recreate the Mardi Gras type of community-wide celebration. The traditional VP celebration has represented for St. Louisans a perceived link between different components of the community in a holiday celebration, while also reinforcing the notion of a benevolent cultural elite."
According to an Atlantic article by Scott Beauchamp, the organization was founded by Charles Slayback, a Confederate military veteran who became a grain industry executive. It was founded, in large part, as a response to organized labor movements of the era, which St. Louis's wealthy elite saw as threats to corporate power.
"The primary goal of the VP events was to take back the public stage from populist demands for social and economic justice," continues Beauchamp. Its annual parade was specifically designed to interrupt parades held by trade unions.
The organization also worked to disrupt union power by creating a spectacle of mystery based on the idea of a "Veiled Prophet," a man who wears a white hood and whose identity is hidden. The original images of the Veiled Prophet do resemble a Ku Klux Klansman.
To this day, the Veiled Prophet still appears at the yearly balls and events and selects a Queen of Love and Beauty, typically a daughter of one of the more influential families present, with whom he dances with and offers a (typically quite expensive) gift. "The ball was aimed at reassuring the city's elite of their exclusive status," writes Harry Levins, while also instilling a sense of awe and intimidation in the people watching from the outside.
In its early years, the Veiled Prophet's parades were often criticized for racist depictions of Black people, Jews, and other groups. The criticism has not stopped, and the event has been the subject of many protests over the years. In 1978, in a protest organized by local civil rights groups helmed by leader Percy Green, an activist named Gena Scott interrupted a ball by sliding down a power cable and unmasking the year's prophet. (It turned out to be Tom K. Smith, ex-president of energy corporation Monsanto).
Best thing that could come out of this Ellie Kemper story is people learn more about Percy Green. He's a living legend, climbed the Arch to protest lack of Black hiring, helped reveal the veiled prophet as the VP of Monsanto, & shaped generations of organizers w/Jamala Rogers.https://twitter.com/evhemphill/status/1399558983715852289\u00a0\u2026— Thomas B. Harvey (@Thomas B. Harvey) 1622520936
The organization opened up to Black people in 1979 and changed its name to the St. Louis Fair in the late 1990s, but it has never been able to shake its associations with classism and racism. Perhaps that's why finding out Ellie Kemper had such a big part in the spectacle was so shocking to so many people.
Apparently, Kemper — who most people know for her charming and quirky sitcom roles — comes from one of the wealthiest families in Missouri. Her father is David Kemper, who is a descendant of William Thornton Kemper Sr., developer of Commerce Bankshares and the United Missouri Bank.
Kemper has not yet acknowledged the controversy. While some people considered her canceled, others defended her, with someone writing, "People who think Ellie Kemper is a racist because of participating in racist traditions as a child have never stepped even a toe in the Midwest I guess."
Others argued that 19 is technically an adult, and Kemper was a student at Princeton at the time she was crowned. Still others brought up probably the most accurate summation of the situation, ironically a Titus Andromedon quote from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt:
That revelation about Ellie Kemper is really going to taint Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. If I ever rewatch any parts, it will be the Tituss Burgess scenes. We all know he was the best thing about that series anyway.pic.twitter.com/cpQVjuwbGS— Alan Sarapa (@Alan Sarapa) 1622495802
Regardless of Kemper's involvement and personal culpability, the organization's peculiar history is worth studying. Its existence is an example of how the wealthy elite preserves their power at the expense of workers' rights by creating spectacles based on pomp and circumstance that actually work to preserve a foundation of racism and exclusivity.
Really hope people don't just take away "Ellie Kemper was part of a racist ball" from the trending story, but take away the bigger picture "a lot of the wealthy and famous people you know were part of deeply fucked up racist shit, because deeply fucked up racist shit is ongoing."— Rob of X (@Rob of X) 1622512128
Really hope people don't just take away "Ellie Kemper was part of a racist ball" from the trending story, but take away the bigger picture "a lot of the wealthy and famous people you know were part of deeply fucked up racist shit, because deeply fucked up racist shit is ongoing."— Rob of X (@Rob of X) 1622512128
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