J.B. “Jet” Banks, former state senator of Missouri’s 5th District, is the newest permanent exhibit at the Griot Museum of Black History, 2505 St. Louis Ave.
Elected to the Missouri Senate in 1976, he was the first African-American lawmaker to be elected assistant Majority Floor Leader by the Democratic Caucus of both the House and the Senate. In 1988, he became Senate Majority Leader, making him the first African-American lawmaker ever elected to one of the four top leadership posts in the Missouri General Assembly.
He died on October 13, 2003 at age 79.
“For 32 years, he served in acclaimed leadership,” said his wife Anita Banks, who organized the committee for the Griot exhibit. “The people kept electing him. It was something that was worthy of recognition. He had many friends who wanted to see it happen. I thank everyone for that.”
Anita said she was proud of the many bills her husband helped to pass during his time in the Legislature and as Majority Floor Leader. Those bills emphasized anti-redlining, compensation for crime victims, education and more health services for people with diabetes and sickle cell disease.
Gov. Jay Nixon said he had the honor of serving alongside Senator Banks in the Missouri Senate for six years.
“Without a doubt, Jet Banks broke new ground throughout his entire career of public service, and brought experience and expertise to the many committees he chaired or served on,” Nixon said. “Just as importantly, Senator Banks brought an intense passion to serving the people of his district and the people of Missouri that has been matched by few lawmakers.”
Senator Banks was the first to pass a bill that made Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a state holiday, before the national legislation was enacted. The annual Birthday Celebration Kick-Off Program is held at Harris-Stowe State University. Dr. King’s birthday celebration in Missouri is now the second largest in the nation.
It was Senator Banks who introduced Senate Bill 703 in 1978, which enabled Harris-Stowe College to become a member of the Missouri State System of Public Higher Education.
He also successfully sponsored legislation that expanded the college’s mission and fought hard in the Legislature to ensure that its campus expansion program was a vital part of the statewide plan.
“He was and always will be a Harris-Stowe hero,” said Dr. Henry Givens Jr., president emeritus of Harris-Stowe State University. “In fact, back in the day, we referred to Senator Banks as Harris-Stowe’s godfather.”
The son of a sharecropper and native of Missouri, Banks graduated from Lincoln University with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a minor in physics. In graduate school he studied business and public administration at Saint Louis University and Washington University. In 1989, Senator Banks was awarded both the Doctor of Laws degree from Lincoln University and Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Harris-Stowe State College.
He was also a mortgage banker, a real estate appraiser and broker, an insurance underwriter and the director of several Missouri corporations.
Banks served as chairman of the standing Senate committees on Public Health and Welfare and Rules, Joint Rules and Resolutions. He also chaired the Joint Legislative Committee on Health Care Policy and Planning and served on the Senate standing committees on Administration, Gubernatorial Appointments, State Budget Control, and Insurance and Housing.
Senator Banks was appointed by the Governor to the state’s Commission on Lead Poisoning, and to the following national legislative committees: Executive Committee and Management Committee of the Southern Legislative Conference; and the Committee on Health and the Committee on Human Services of the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“He worked tirelessly,” Anita said. “When he came home from Jefferson City, he went to the headquarters to update the people and to see if they had idea on things.”
He was a member, deacon and trustee of the Christ Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church. He was an active participant in organizations including the Masonic Home Loan Association, the Motivational and Psychological Research Institute, and the Jordan W. Chambers 19th Ward Regular Democrat Organization, Inc.
“He was a man of the people and for the people,” Anita said. “He would nail things out with all his constituents. He was in touch with his people constantly.”
For more information, contact the Griot Museum of Black History at 314-241-7057 or visit www.thegriotmuseum.com.
