Carolyn Long Banks
Member of the Atlanta City Council
At-large Post 14
In office
1980–1997
Preceded byMarvin S. Arrington Sr.
Personal details
Born(1940-10-30)October 30, 1940
McDonough, Georgia, U.S.
DiedApril 12, 2023(2023-04-12) (aged 82)
EducationClark College (1962)
Georgia State University
OccupationActivist, politician

Carolyn Long Banks (October 30, 1940 – April 12, 2023) was an American civil rights activist and politician who helped found the Atlanta Student Movement and was the first black woman to serve on the Atlanta City Council.[1][2][3]

Early life and education

A fourth-generation Atlantan, Banks was born in McDonough on October 30, 1940, to Ralph A. Long, Sr. and Rubye Carolyn Hall Long. She had a brother, Ralph.[4] Her father was a principal and her mother was chair of a high school English department.[1] Banks went to Our Lady of Lourdes Atlanta, then attended Turner High School after her father became principal there.[5] Banks's aunt Annette Lucille Hall was the first black person to enroll at Georgia State University.[6]

Initially, Banks planned to study fashion design at either UCLA or Pratt Institute, but she agreed to attend Clark University, her parents' alma mater, for a year.[7]

During the Atlanta sit-ins, Banks was arrested at least four times, including in 1960 during a sit-in at Rich's to protest its segregated restaurant, Magnolia Room.[8][9] Banks was joined by Lucille Scott of the Atlanta Daily World; she ordered a salad.[4] "I was so nervous; we ate our food and left," she said. "Then I was arrested."[5]

Banks also helped to produce the 1960 manifesto An Appeal for Human Rights.[1]

Banks later worked as a teacher and as a buyer at Rich's.[1] She had been asked by the National Urban League to apply there and help integrate the store.[4] Banks worked at Rich's as its first black buyer until 1983.[4]

Atlanta City Council

In early 1980, Banks was appointed to the Atlanta City Council's at-large post 14 to succeed Marvin S. Arrington Sr. after he became council president, replacing Carl Ware.[1] Banks had been traveling in New York at the time, and her parents tentatively accepted the position for her.[5] Her appointment gave black council-members a majority of 9–8.[10] She won re-election to the seat multiple times.[11]

During her tenure, Banks sponsored legislation to ban AK-47 assault rifles, and also was in office during the Atlanta child murders from 1979 through 1981. "I participated in all 26 funerals," said Banks. "It was very difficult."[5] She later served as chair of the public safety committee.[12]

During Freaknik in the early 1990s, Banks was opposed to mayor Bill Campbell's plans to block off neighborhoods and stop wild behavior, worried the tactics could spark violence. She added that "the city too busy to hate is gearing up for the confrontation of its life".[13]

Banks was the president of the National League of Cities in 1994.[1]

In 1996, the Atlanta City Council approved a new charter which reduced the number of at-large posts from six to three.[14] The next year, Banks and fellow council member Robb Pitts both took the opportunity to run for Council President.[15]

Personal life

Banks converted to Catholicism when she turned eighteen; she attended Saint Paul of the Cross in Atlanta.[5] She was also a lifetime member of the NAACP.[8]

Banks's ex-husband was in the United States Army Ordnance Corps and served in the Vietnam War.[4] They divorced in 1969. Banks had two children: a daughter, April, and a son, James.[8]

Following her career in politics, Banks worked for Lockheed Martin from 2000 to 2009.[1] In 2021, she was inducted into the Atlanta Business League Women of Vision Hall of Fame.[16]

Banks died on April 12, 2023, at the age of 82.[1]

Writings

  • Banks, Carolyn Long; Lashutka, Greg (September 1995). "Deficits Are Destroying Our Future". Illinois Municipal Review: 19–20.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Badertscher, Nancy; Bunch, Riley (13 April 2023). "Carolyn Long Banks was an Atlanta trailblazer". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  2. ↑ Smith Jr., John B. (12 April 2023). "Inquirer Family Mourns the Loss of Friend and Activist Carolyn Long Banks". The Atlanta Inquirer.
  3. ↑ "Alumnae in Civic & Social Engagement". Clark Atlanta University. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Georgia State University Library (1 August 2011). "Carolyn Long Banks oral history interview". YouTube.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Haugh, Suzanne (21 January 2010). "Catholic Councilwoman Recalls Civil Rights History". The Georgia Bulletin.
  6. ↑ Daniels, Maurice Charles (2019). Ground Crew: The Fight to End Segregation at Georgia State. Athens: The University of Georgia Press. p. 125. ISBN 9780820355979.
  7. ↑ Jones, Joyce (Fall 2014). "The Activist Gene: If These Streets Could Talk". Clark Atlanta Magazine. pp. 15–17.
  8. 1 2 3 "First Black woman to serve on Atlanta City Council passes away". FOX 5. 12 April 2023.
  9. ↑ Turner, Renée D. (August 1989). "Atlanta: Gone With the Winds of Change". Ebony. Vol. 44, no. 10. pp. 38–45. ISSN 0012-9011.
  10. ↑ "1st Black Woman Wins Atlanta Council Position". Jet. Vol. 58, no. 4. 10 April 1980. p. 6. ISSN 0021-5996.
  11. ↑ "City of Atlanta General Election, October 6, 1981". Fulton County. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  12. ↑ "Jan 3, 1994 Minutes". Atlanta City Council. p. 83.
  13. ↑ Stanley, Edith; Harrison, Eric (22 April 1995). "'Freaknik' Revelers Descend on an Apprehensive Atlanta". The Los Angeles Times.
  14. ↑ "How Your Council Works". Atlanta City Council. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  15. ↑ "Race gets crowded". Atlanta Business Chronicle. 28 July 1997.
  16. ↑ Rayam, Lisa (29 September 2021). "First African American Woman On Atlanta City Council Honored". WABE.
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