St. Louis mayor skips city’s Fourth of July parade for first time in 90 years
Tishaura Jones is the first St. Louis mayor to skip the city’s Fourth of July parade in 90 years, according to a local TV station.
KMOV Channel 4 reported that downtown St. Louis was filled with spectators watching floats, bands and other units in America’s Birthday Parade on Saturday, but Jones wasn’t part of the festivities.
“Mayor Jones has said that St. Louis needs to have tough conversations to truly move forward, and this includes the conversation in early June that brought (the) community’s concerns about the Veiled Prophet to the forefront,” according to a statement sent by the mayor’s office after the TV station asked why she didn’t participate.
“The organization has stated its commitment to doing better for the people of St. Louis moving forward, and the Mayor’s involvement is contingent on their demonstration of that commitment. She will be spending the weekend with her family.”
The parade is sponsored by the Veiled Prophet Organization. Jones was elected as the city’s first Black woman mayor in April.
The parade’s roots go back to 1878, when it was called the Veiled Prophet Parade. It was staged by the Order of the Veiled Prophet, which modeled it after Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans, according to the organization’s website.
The parade has caused controversy, particularly in recent decades. The original purpose of the Veiled Prophet Organization, formed as a secret society of white civic elites, was to take back the public stage from populist demands for social and economic justice, according to many historians.
“To underline the message of class and race hegemony, the image of the first Veiled Prophet is armed with a shotgun and pistol and is strikingly similar in appearance to a (Ku Klux) Klansman,” states a 2014 history in The Atlantic.
The parade was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with Fair St. Louis at Gateway Arch National Park. State and local restrictions prohibited large gatherings.
Jones made the following statement earlier this year, when it was announced that the parade would return on July 3:
“It makes me proud that they’re bringing together other organizations who had to cancel their own parades, leading with a spirit of collaboration that St. Louis and the whole country can appreciate. I encourage everyone to celebrate however they feel comfortable, and to consider the health and safety of their fellow paradegoers as they come together Downtown to celebrate.”
On Saturday, floats, bands and other units marched west on Market Street from Broadway at Kiener Plaza to 18th Street near Union Station.
This story was originally published July 4, 2021 at 12:50 PM.