Bio

The Honorable Teta V. Banks will be guest speaker at 2017 Black History Scholarship Gala

‌The Honorable Teta V. Banks—an educator, writer, civil rights advocate and diplomat—was elected Chair of the United Nations Associations at its annual Leadership Summit in Washington, DC. in July, 2016.

The UNA-USA promotes the mission and goals of the United Nations. It consists of 200+ chapters throughout the USA and is a member of the World Federation of UNA (WFUNA) with representatives from over 94 countries.

She also is President of the International Forum, Inc., which is a consortium of academic and diplomatic experts on international affairs. Banks is a professor of English at Lone Star College and at Prairie View A&M University.

Banks is the former Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Liberia. Originally from Monrovia, Liberia (Suehn Mission), Banks grew up in Detroit, Michigan, where her father, the late Rev. Dr. A. A. Banks, Jr., was pastor of the historic Second Baptist Church of Detroit and her mother, the late Dr. Victoria Allen Banks, was an educator and religious leader. Her parents were active in the Civil Rights Movement and were personal colleagues of Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr.; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and Rosa Parks.

Banks was first appointed Honorary Consul General in 1993 and served until 2009, a period that overlapped the presidency of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who was the first woman to be democratically elected as head of state on the African continent.

Banks represented the Liberian government and assisted in the rebuilding of that war-torn nation. She addressed human rights issues throughout African countries, and promoted trade and cultural relations between the United States and Liberia, as well as other African countries.

Her major concerns involved rebuilding hospitals and schools, the placement of refugees, rehabilitating child soldiers, providing conflict resolution to warring factions, and working closely with the United Nations, inter- national governments, and community groups to address human rights issues.

She served as a member of the Advisory Council of the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (the first of its kind to operate throughout the Diaspora), the Liberian Scholarship Fund, as well as the international investors’ forum to assist Liberia in its redevelopment.