Actress Ellie Kemper apologizes for participating in gala with ‘racist’ and 'elitist’ past - The Washington Post

Louis’s elite society, marking a celebration of her social debut as well as social status, power and wealth.

In 1999, 19-year-old Princeton University student Ellie Kemper participated in the century-old tradition and was crowned as the queen of love and beauty in the debutante ball hosted by the Veiled Prophet Organization — a secretive and exclusive society run for decades by wealthy White families.

There is no evidence that the Veiled Prophet Organization has ties to the white supremacist group.

Part of a Missouri family that includes wealthy bankers and prominent business leaders, Kemper had the traditional social credentials to become queen of the Veiled Prophet Ball.

The website depicts the traditional ball as a celebration that “has represented for St.

Louis Veiled Prophet Celebration: Power On Parade 1877-1995,” the primary goal of events such as the gala and an accompanying parade was less benevolent.

The Veiled Prophet Organization did not admit Black members until 1979 — more than 100 years after it was founded — and it did not admit Jews for many years, according to Beauchamp.

A representative for the Veiled Prophet Organization told the St?