Earl Banks Jr.
By Geneva Hackley Westley

 

Earl Banks, Jr. standing next to his red and white 1956 Chevrolet

Husband, widower, father, grandfather, Sunday School teacher, Superintendent of Sunday School, Deacon, race car driver, antique car restorer, early supporter of the Primitive Baptist enrichment center and Christian friend are descriptions of Mr. Earl Banks, Jr.

 

Banks grew up in the St. Peter Community and attended Raney School. The white structure that serves as the fellowship hall for St. Peter Primitive Baptist Church is the old school house.

 

He married Flora in 1948 and completed building their first home in 1949. He replaced the original blockhouse with the brick home that he now resides in. The Banks raised their two sons and a daughter in the home that was across the street from St. Peter Primitive Baptist Church.

 

Earl and Flora attended St. Peter Primitive Baptist Church. They both were in the choir; Flora served as the musician as long as her health permitted her to. They were partners at home and in the church, he was a deacon and she was a mother of the church. Their partnership of fifty-three years ended with her death.

 

Banks believes in serving the Lord and has worked faithfully in the church. In addition to being a deacon, he is a Sunday school teacher. He has also served as Superintendent of Sunday School, chairman of the Deacon’s Board and an active member of the Old West Primitive Baptist Convention and Old West Primitive Baptist Association. He was recognized by Old West for building the outer structure that would become the Old West Primitive Baptist Enrichment Center. A builder by trade, Banks joined Hester and Rackley as one of the handful of early black licensed contractors.

 

As a young man, Banks built and raced cars. He raced in a circuit that included Tallahassee and cities in Alabama and Georgia. He still enjoys working on antique cars and is often seen driving his red and white 1956 Chevrolet car to lunch. He and his friend Deacon Lucian Wilson especially enjoy eating and socializing at Barnhill’s.

As Banks nears his 77th birthday, he thanks God for health and the abundant life that he has enjoyed. He loves being around people, especially his children, grandchildren, church members and lunch buddies. He reflected that he misses family, friends and neighbors that once were a part of St. Peter Community. The neighborhood that was once made up of black landowners is now filled with apartments, housing developments, stores, warehouses and restaurants.