On December 23, 1972, six women with tickets provided by debutantes and two of them, white women Gena Scott and Jane Sauer, walked together into Kiel Auditorium, with no problem. Then Charles Reed, that year's Black Veiled Prophet went to the entrance with Beverly Crosby and Florence Jarrett, presented the gatekeeper with three tickets and a statement demanding entrance. They were denied entry because they were not "dressed properly." Refusing to leave, they were arrested and taken to a police station.[43]
Sauer and Scott took balcony seats on opposite sides of the house. During the program, Sauer began dropping leaflets into the audience, then "threw the rest of the leaflets over the railing" as two men converged on her and began to pull her away.[43]
Meanwhile, Scott was rappelling on a rope from a balcony when she tumbled hard to the floor, climbed to her feet, rushed to the stage, grabbed the crown and veil and yanked it from that year's VP. The Post-Dispatch reported that "the Veiled Prophet, whom everybody could see was bald, and very angry, struggled gallantly to restore the veil and its 95-year-old tradition [of anonymity] to its proper place."[43][44] The VP was later to be revealed as Monsanto executive Tom K. Smith Jr.[1]
Scott said: "The chairman of the VP committee, Alexander Cornwell Jr., had wanted to press charges, but when he was informed that the Veiled Prophet would have to appear in open court to do so, the whole matter was dropped." Scott's ribs were diagnosed as bruised and possibly broken.[43]
They could have done so much good if they went a step further than drama kid protests.
