Activist pushed for affordable housing
‘Mayor of Berkley’: George Banks, who helped thousands in Norfolk. dies at 88
NORFOLK — When George Banks returned to the Berkley neighborhood of Norfolk in 1953, many in the community he grew up in still didn’t have indoor plumbing or running water.
He set out to change that, helping to establish and operate the Bell Diamond Manor housing complex and provide thousands of people with affordable homes. His impact was so great that a second affordable complex, the Banks at Berkley, was named for him. Many in the city know him as the “mayor of Berkley.”
Banks died Dec. 26. He was 88. “We will always remember you as a servant who worked hard, gave endlessly and led by example,” read a Facebook post by the Beacon Light Community Housing Development Organization, one of the numerous Berkley organizations Banks was involved in.
Banks grew up in Berkley, but left for three years to serve in the Army. He returned home to realize his community did not have some of the amenities that were common elsewhere. The task of improving living conditions was slow and frustrating, and after years of work, Banks bypassed the usual channels and went to the top.
Banks, serving as president of the Beacon Light Civic League, requested a $2.7 million loan from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to build and operate new, quality housing.
He got the money, and built what became Bell Diamond Manor.
Banks’ granddaughter Christie Banks said, “He let his work speak for itself.”
A quiet man of short stature, Banks wasn’t someone who drew attention to himself. But he was someone people knew they could approach for help and someone other leaders in the city knew they needed to listen to.
His work is visible today — along with Bell Diamond and Banks of Berkley, Christie Banks said her grandfather had a hand in other business and housing developments, civic leagues, the NAACP, community pool and Boys and Girls Club.
Anne Boone, president of the Berkley Historical Society, said Banks was driven by seeing the community he dreamed of as a young man come to fruition and fostering change at a smaller scale — she said he helped numerous people, including her, buy their first homes.
Boone and others said they often turned to Banks for reassurance that they were “on the right track” in their own community activism efforts.
Elwood “Coach” Williams ran the community’s Boys and Girls club for 30 years after Banks gave him the opportunity. Williams said Banks was patient with him, giving him time to figure out how to run the organization. Whenever there was a need, Banks would step in to help find funding and sponsorships.
“(Banks) brought stability to the community. He was involved in many groups and organizations and connected people,” Williams said. Along with physical changes, Banks “transformed the mentality of the community” with his dedication.
Pamela Spruill, who succeeded Banks as project manager at Beacon Light Community Housing Development Organization, described him as someone whowalked quietly but carried a big stick. She worked with Banks on and off for years, starting as an office helper in eighth grade.
Spruill said Banks operated with a conviction that he and others fighting for Berkley would “find victory.”
Beacon Light sold control of Bell Diamond to a developer a few years ago to pay for renovations at the property. Banks oversaw the work before retiring in 2018.
In aFacebookpost, Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander commended Banks as someone who “helped shape the Berkley Community by introducing social and economic programs that ushered its renewal.”
Alexander grew upin Berkley and began his civic life there.
“(Banks) never let up on his crusade against inequity, inequality and the complex roots of urban poverty. Mr. Banks spent his entire life as a community-based grassroots and civic leader, championing causes that led to numerous social, economic, political, cultural and environmental changes,” Alexander wrote.
In a statement, U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, whose district includes Berkley, said Banks “helped transform (the area) for the better of the city and its citizens who reside there.”
Banks, he said, “devoted his life to service to his community and successfully fought to eliminate the inequity and inequality of our nation’s housing policies.”
Banks leaves behind his wife, a daughter, six grandchildren and many great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his son.