Wilhelmina Suzanne Pelham Banks was born December 8, 1932, in Bristol, VA to Okie Nevada Nobleton Pelham and Moses Schwartz Pelham.  Early on, she was identified as the family Griot, a West African designation for the historian as well as being the storyteller of the oral traditions.

She graduated from Frederick Douglas High School in Bristol, VA, and went on to pursue her secondary education at Morristown College in Morristown, TN.

After attending Morristown College, she moved to Brooklyn, NY.  She became actively involved as a community organizer in several organizations including Brooklyn Core (The Congress on Racial Equality) and BAND (Blacks Against Negative Dying) an Anti-Vietnam War group co-founded by her and late husband Gilbert Heinz Banks, who was also an activist.

In 1967 she moved to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with her husband and 2 infant children. She became the first female manager at the National Bank of Tanzania.  During her tenure, she developed a customer service training program, the first of its kind, which was adopted and implemented throughout the entire banking system.

After 5 years, the family moved back to Brooklyn, where she received her postgraduate degree Summa Cum Laude, in Guidance and Counseling at Brooklyn College, while still maintaining a full-time job.
She naturally continued her community involvement, as a senior member of Black United Front, and co-founder of Pride (Progressive Rainbow Independence Developing Empowerment) grass root organizations designed to address community and civic issues. She was also the co-founder of SASSA (Sister Against South African Apartheid) the Swahili word for NOW.

Upon retiring she moved back to Bristol, VA. It was in Bristol where her lifelong dream came to fruition. As a little girl, she always wanted to open a museum. Her perpetual activism and griot status cumulated in opening Nyumba Ya Tausi (Peacock Museum), as Director and Curator.  The museum is in the family home built in 1896. It contains a remarkable collection of over 6000 artifacts of African and African America Art. She used the collection to ignite the curiosity and imagination of her visitors to the museum.
Needless to say, her activism continued in Bristol.  In Bristol, she was a member of the Rocky Mountain Storytellers. She developed a prison ministry and held workshops on black history. Too many accomplishments to mention. One achievement of special note that will stand the test of time, was she spearheaded the movement to rename Randolph Expwy to Martin Luther King Jr.  Blvd.
A strong Christian woman of unwavering faith she was a member of several progressive churches, Siloam Presbyterian Church, (Brooklyn, NY), House of the Lord Pentecostal Church, (Brooklyn, NY), and John Wesley United Methodist Church (Bristol, VA). In her later years, she also attended Reynolds Memorial United Methodist Church (Bristol, VA).
Sister Banks, as she was lovingly called, was full of wit and grace, a penchant for style and sophistication. As a world-class traveler, she left a mark wherever she went. She was indeed a Queen but above all else a Warrior. She fought passionately for the liberation of ALL African people at home & abroad and women's rights.

A family-oriented woman, Wilhelmina S. Banks is lovingly remembered by her two sons, Ebubedike Dubois (Charmaine) Banks and Kwabla Banks, and her two grandsons, Amari and Kei.  She will greatly be missed by her nieces and nephew, Lois Eaddy, Janice Lockett Eccleston, and Moses Pelham III; great nephews and nieces, Alan Eccleston, Ahmad Eccleston, and Alayah Eccleston Thelen; and sister-in-law, Hannelore Pelham.