This Is America: St. Louis' Veiled Prophet Parade
Vložit
- čas přidán 30. 06. 2019
- The Veiled Prophet (VP) Organization was invented in 1877, in part, by former Confederate cavalry soldier and wealthy businessman Charles Slayback.
Its genesis was in response to the great railroad strike that occurred earlier that same year, where black and white railroad workers banded together to stop trains in St. Louis for one week. The strikers were disbanded by three thousand federal troops and five thousands special police, resulting the the deaths of eighteen workers.
The business elite of St. Louis wanted to exert their power and control over the working class by creating an extravagant parade funded by the Veiled Prophet Organization, which included elaborate floats, exhibits, and fireworks meant to demonstrate to the public the wealth and influence that allowed for industry to flourish in the city. The first Veiled Prophet was the police chief in charge of disbanding the railroad strike of 1877.
Over a century later, the organization and its parade still continue with its tradition, occurring over the Fourth of July and rebranded as America's Birthday Parade. Each year, a new Veiled Prophet is selected in secret and displayed during the parade route.
'This Is America' is a video essay by video artist Louis Quatorze, documenting the modern iteration of the Veiled Prophet, as seen in Fair St. Louis during July 2017.
Sources:
(1) American Illuminations: Urban Lighting, 1800-1920 by David E. Nye
(2) Prophet Motive by Ellen F. Harris via St. Louis Magazine
(3) The Uneasy Past of the Veiled Prophet Organization by Kelsey Koltz via The Common Reader
Executive producer: LoveBaker (@lovebaeker) - Hudba
As a Louisiana dude these veiled prophet outfits are nice but they got nothing on us
Decent video once I cut the audio. My favorite VP Fair was 1976. Chicago played and it was AMAZING!
F*ck it up
The real Veiled Prophet is Moses. The Lord is not mocked! Repent before it’s too late. St Louis has cursed itself