Banks family papers
Overview
The Banks family collection consists of papers from long-time Kansas City residents Wade B. Banks, Jr., his wife Blanche, and their family. Most of the collection focuses on Blanche's involvement in the First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME), research into family geneology, work as principal of Shawnee Mission North High School, correspondence, speeches, reference material, and papers concerning civil rights in the United States.
Dates
- Creation: 1921 - 2017
Creator
- Banks, Blanche O. (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
No access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Spencer Research Library staff may determine use restrictions dependent on the physical condition of manuscript materials.
Biography of Blanche Banks
Blanche O. Banks (née Oliver) attended college in Edmond, Oklahoma. She taught English at Indian Creek Junior High before becoming administrative intern at Shawnee Mission North High School in Shawnee, Kansas. She thereafter became the school's principal in 1985, making her the first African American principal in the district. She retired in 1997, leaving the school after 17 years.
Blanche married Wade Benjamin Banks II on August 18, 1957. Wade B. Banks, Jr. worked as the Vice President of the Kansas City YMCA before retiring in 1990.
The Banks have one son, Wade Benjamin Banks III, a manager at The Boeing Company in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Wade Banks III attended Ottawa Univeristy, a private Baptist university in Ottawa, Kansas.
Extent
2.75 Linear Feet (4 boxes + 1 oversize box)
Language of Materials
English
Scope and Contents
The Banks family collection mainly centers around Blanche O. Banks. It contains handwritten notes, events and memorials, speeches, professional material from her time as principal of Shawnee Mission North High School, church papers, correspondence, reference material, civil rights papers focusing on Banks' involvement with the NAACP, newspaper clippings, geneology research, and family reunion materials. Audio visual material concerning family geneology and church materials are also included.
Items focusing on Wade B. Banks, Jr. are also included in the collection. These mostly consist of his involvement at the First African Methodist Church and papers on his retirement from the Kansas City YMCA as their Vice President.
Physical Location
RH MS 1488
Physical Location
RH MS-P 1488
Physical Location
RH MS R453
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift, Wade Banks III, 2018.
Source
- Banks, Wade, III (Donor, Person)
Subject
- First African Methodist Episcopal Church (Kansas City, Kan.) (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Banks Family Collection
- Subtitle
- Banks family papers
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by bas. Finding aid encoded by bas.
- Date
- 2019-05-14
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Finding aid written in English.
- Finding aid permalink
- http://hdl.handle.net/10407/2150170675
- Preferred citation
-
Banks family papers, RH MS 1488, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas.
Repository Details
Part of the University of Kansas. Kenneth Spencer Research Library Repository