Charles Banks

Charles Banks, the subject of this engaging biography, was a well-known African American leader whose reputation and influence extended beyond his native Mississippi and the all-black town of Mound Bayou that he transformed into a highly visible symbol of black progress. Born in 1873 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Banks spent his entire life in the state during an era of mounting racial discrimination and violence. That he became a successful entrepreneur and banker, revered by blacks and respected by many whites, was an extraordinary achievement. This important book explores that achievement with great skill and sensitivity. Organized rationally and written in clear, straightforward prose, the book is based on deep and wide-ranging research in both primary and secondary sources. It places Banks in a broad historical context and combines descriptive narrative and astute analysis to present a thorough and balanced portrait of the man and his career that underscores both his laudable traits and his obvious flaws.

Although Banks resembled those blacks whom W. E. B. Du Bois labeled the "talented tenth," his strategy for the survival and progress of black people differed dramatically