A staple among St. Louis’ white and wealthy, Veiled Prophet was founded in 1878 by two brothers who were Confederate soldiers. The Slayback brothers created Veiled Prophet in response to the 1877 Railroad Strike, in which more than 1,500 Black and white railroad workers protested over the insufferable pay and treatment they faced. 

Its purpose, according to historian Thomas Spencer, is to ensure elite values are at the forefront of public attention, not populist ideologies. 

The secret society hosts an annual festival, and only St. Louis’ most elite get the invite. Though there are no definitive ties between the Veiled Prophet and the Klu Klux Klan, its imagery certainly does. The ball features a Veiled Prophet, an anonymous man in a costume resembling KKK garbs. What’s more, Black men weren’t allowed into VP until 1979. 

Every year, the Veiled Prophet awards a young woman as the Queen of Love and Beauty. And recently, Veiled Prophet has garnered national attention because the 1999 Queen of Love and Beauty is Ellie Kemper, Office actress and St. Louis native. 

Kemper has since apologized.

But criticism of the Veiled Prophet’s racism is nothing new. In 1969, Black activists gathered outside of the VP Ball and shouted “white racism must go, the Veiled Prophet must go.” Three years later, a few protestors got into the ball and unmasked the Veiled Prophet. 

For now, the Veiled Prophet continues on as yet another example of racism in this city. At Kennedy Hunt P.C., we work to combat inequality. 

Our practice areas, including civil rights and employment law, center the importance of equality and justice. If you have been a victim of racism and injustice, we can help. Fill out a questionnaire or contact us at (314) 872-9041.

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 (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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Shortly after that, former Kennedy Hunt, P.C. attorney Heather Brouillet Navarro announced she would be running for St. Louis’ 28th ward alderwoman position.

On July 11, Navarro, a democrat, won the special election in a sweeping victory, receiving 68.85 percent of the votes, according to the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners.

Navarro, the current Executive Director of the Missouri Coalition for the Environment, has also been a resident of the Central West End and the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhoods for the past 14 years.

In her neighborhood, Navarro has put a focus on building community. She helped found Central West End Families and Friends, a nonprofit group that later developed Samuel Kennedy Park, which runs along the Delmar Divide.

During her campaign, she received official support from Krewson, as well as backing from the 28th Ward Democratic Committee, among many other endorsements.

According to her campaign web page, Navarro’s priorities include service, public safety, and equitable development.

As an attorney at Kennedy Hunt, P.C., Navarro wrote on her campaign’s website, “I have practiced law as a civil rights attorney, representing parents of children with special needs, Medicaid recipients, and victims of discrimination.”

Below is a case Navarro worked on while at our law firm.

Mapaville Litigation (E.D. Mo. 2010). Our clients are parents of students with severe disabilities who attended Mapaville State School in Festus, Mo. They discovered abusive treatment of their children at Mapaville after secretly recording several classes. The audiotapes revealed verbal and physical abuse of children, teachers and aides participating in Jazzercize activities while children were ignored, students being put down for naps for lengthy periods each day, and teachers and therapists falsifying records of services to students, among other things. Six families file due process hearing requests; five lost, one family obtained partial relief, and one family (represented by our firm) was successful. Then our firm agreed to handle all these cases on appeal in the U.S. District Court. Eventually Mapaville and the Missouri Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education agreed to settlements in each case which provided for a wide range of compensatory services over a three-year period, including independent augmentative communication evaluations, unannounced monitoring of Mapaville, and payments to our clients ranging from $10,000.00 to $200,000.00. The last Mapaville case was concluded in January 2013.

During her time as a practicing attorney, Navarro also worked on Alexander v. Baxton, et al. (S.D. Ill. 2012), as well as Hiltibran v. Levy (W.D. Mo. 2010). The selections from these cases can be found on our webpage.

Navarro will serve for at least the next two years as 28th ward alderwoman as she fills Krewson’s term. According to St. Louis Public Radio, Navarro may begin her role as alderwoman as soon as July 21.

The next formal election for alderman of the 28th ward will be held in 2019.

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On February 10, St. Louis passed an addition protecting reproductive health decisions to the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance with a 17-10 vote.

The ordinance, which was sponsored by 15th Ward Alderwoman  Megan Green, prevents employers and landowners in St. Louis from discriminating against women based on their reproductive choices.

Simply put, the ordinance bans discrimination of women who are pregnant, who have had abortions, or use contraceptives such as birth control.

The debate over women’s reproductive rights is certainly not new, and religious beliefs often contribute to perspectives on these issues.

And this ordinance certainly has faced its critics.

The Lutheran Church Missouri – Synod, and Archdiocese of St. Louis are among many organizations who oppose the ordinance, citing how it forces individuals to go against their beliefs.

In just months after this ordinance was passed in St. Louis, lawmakers in Jefferson City have gone to work to strip it down.

On June 12, Gov. Eric Greitens called for a special session, causing Missouri lawmakers to return to the Capitol in attempts of both removing St. Louis’ new ordinance, and imposing greater abortion restrictions.

The next day the Missouri Senate’s Seniors, Families and Children Committee endorsed a plan to overturn the St. Louis ordinance. Two days later, Senate Bill 5 was passed.

In mid-June the Missouri House added their opinions to the future of the St. Louis ordinance, and abortions in the state as well.

Although the House’s version of the bill is considered stricter than the Senate’s, both share the same goal of preempting the St. Louis ordinance.

An official bill has yet to make it to Greiten’s desk.

Lawmakers are expected to return to Jefferson City in mid-July to alter and argue the bill.

At our practice, we specialize in both employment and housing law. If you believe you have been discriminated against in the workplace or in housing, contact our experienced attorneys.

The future of this ordinance and the protection of women based on their reproductive decisions in St. Louis, and Missouri, at this time is uncertain.

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After two years on hold, City of St. Louis Ordinance No. 70078, raising the minimum wage to $10 an hour took effect on May 5, 2017.

This Ordinance makes St. Louis City’s minimum wage higher than the rest of Missouri’s, set at $7.70 an hour, and Illinois’, at $8.25 an hour.

The Ordinance, also known as Board Bill No. 83, was argued in the Ways and Means committee in the summer of 2015. 

Increased income inequality, high poverty rate in St. Louis, and the inability of many St. Louis City workers to participate in the region’s opportunities because of their income were among   the many reasons the sponsors of the Ordinance believed the minimum wage should be increased.

The minimum wage increase has certainly had its opponents. Shortly after the Ordinance was approved by St. Louis aldermen, the city was sued by many business groups, including The Missouri Retailers Association and the Missouri Restaurant Association. These groups felt that the minimum wage should be equal across the state.

The opinions of these individuals was upheld by the St. Louis Circuit Court, which placed an injunction on the minimum wage Ordinance. But, Missouri law allows municipalities to establish minimum wages that exceeds the state minimum wage rate.

The case, Cooperative Home Care, Inc., et al., vs. City of St. Louis, Missouri, et al , was taken to the Missouri Supreme Court.

On Feb. 28, 2017, the MO. Supreme Court issued their opinion and ruled in favor of the city, going against the ruling made in the lower Circuit Court.

As required by the state’s Supreme Court ruling, City of St. Louis circuit judge Steven Ohmer lifted the injunction placed on the Ordinance, and the minimum wage increase went into place on May 5, 2017.

According to the National Employment Law Project, 35,000 workers in the City of St. Louis were immediately affected by this wage increase.

This new minimum wage does not apply to individuals who work less than 20 hours per year, businesses that employ fewer than 15 workers, and businesses that gross less than $500,000 per year.

Missouri Department of Labor and the Ordinance require that notices of the increased minimum wage must be sent to workplaces in St. Louis City, that employers inform their employees of the wage increase, and that employers do not violate the wage requirements and do not participate in prohibited conduct, as highlighted in sections two and three of the Ordinance, respectively.

Employees have the right to earn their wages. Kennedy Hunt, P.C. specializes in employment law, and helps individuals determine if their employers have withheld them from their rights.

The minimum wage increase of $10 per hour that went into effect on May 5, 2017 will be followed by a raise of $11 per hour on Jan. 1, 2018. This puts St. Louis’ minimum wage well above most cities and states in America, and in closer alignment with larger cities, such as Chicago which has a current minimum wage of $10.50 per hour.

But the future of this is in jeopardy. 

The Ordinance has faced pushback in Jefferson City by many conservative Missouri lawmakers. On May 13, lawmakers sent a bill to Governor Eric Greitens banning local minimum wages.

Time ran out on the legislative session, and Greitens has yet to sign this bill into law.

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