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Joanna Banks collection of African American authors and artists, foodways, and memorabilia

Notifications

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6206

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
Ms. Coll. 1585
Repository:
University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
Extent:
6.5 linear feet (7 boxes)
Language:
English
Date:
1948-2016 (inclusive)
Creator:
Banks, Joanna
Form:
Articles, Bibliographies, Clippings (information artifacts), Newsletters, Photographs, and Recipes
Abstract:
Joanna Banks is a retired Museum Educator and book collector, specializing in the writing of Black authors, with a particular focus on works by and about Black women, children's books, and African American cooking and foodways. Joanna Banks assembled a collection of materials around these themes that includes periodical articles, academic papers, newspaper clippings, photocopies, newsletters, catalogs, recipes, bibliographies, photographs, and ephemera.

Joanna Banks is a retired Museum Educator and book collector, specializing in the writing of Black authors, with a particular focus on works by and about Black women, children's books, and African American cooking and foodways. She also makes and collects dolls.

Joanna Banks was born March 28, 1943, in Louisville, Kentucky, to parents Wheeler H. Banks and Mary Fawbush. She grew up in Louisville's Shepards Square housing project with her parents and older brother, Charles H. Banks. She remembers that she "always loved to read" and that one of the proudest moments of her life was getting her first library card. Frustrated by the limited job opportunities for Black women in Louisville, Joanna Banks moved to Washington D.C. in 1964 and found a job working for the Bureau of Public Debt. A year later, she began working for AT&T, where she remained employed for over twenty-two years. In 1987 she lost her job at AT&T following an episode of downsizing, but this led to her volunteering at the Smithsonian Institution's Anacostia Community Museum, eventually becoming a fulltime Museum Educator.

Joanna Banks credits reading of the "Langston Hughes Reader" in 1965 with sparking her curiosity about other Black writers and the desire to collect whatever books she could find. She became acquainted with the literary scene in Washington D.C. and attended many events held at the libraries, museums, and bookshops in the area. She also attended an annual writers conference at Howard University, where she met and photographed many Black authors. Banks also began attending meetings of a reading group called, the Black Women's Arts Resource Collective or BWARC. It was at these meetings that she met Barbara D. Savage, a professor of Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Savage played a key role in helping Joanna Banks decide to donate her extensive collection to the University of Pennsylvania Libraries in 2018.

Works consulted:

Barbara D. Savage interview of Joanna Banks:

Banks, Joanna, and Barbara D. Savage. "Joanna Banks' Book Collection." YouTube, 22 Feb. 2019, youtu.be/pf8UJDrlu3w?si=1RCCJrsk8UtAmlsg.

Joanna Banks Collection of African American Books:

"Joanna Banks Collection of African American Books." Penn Libraries, 2019, www.library.upenn.edu/collections/notable/joanna-banks-collection.

This collection was assembled by Joanna Banks and contains periodical articles, academic papers, newspaper clippings, photocopies, newsletters, catalogs, recipes, bibliographies, photographs, and ephemera. Parts of this collection were originally housed in binders that have been discarded, but this is noted in the inventory and the materials remain in their original order. The collection has been organized into six series.

Series I: African American foodways and recipes

This series contains a large assortment or recipes and articles on African American cooking and foodways. Many are clippings or photocopies taken from a variety of periodicals, but some recipes are taken from cookbooks, pamphlets, or ephemeral sources. A few cookbooks are reproduced in their entirety as photocopies. Arranged chronologically.

Series II: Black authors and artists

This series contains a large assortment of articles, event ephemera, and newsletters about black authors and artists. Some of this material is focused on specific authors or artists, but the topics of storytelling and children's literature is also present. Also included are newsletters from the Black Women's Arts Resource Collective or BWARC. Arranged alphabetically. For additional information on Black authors, please see Series IV.

Series III: Black history and culture

This series contains academic articles, newspaper clippings, catalogs, newsletters, and other materials that explore a variety of topics in Black history and contemporary culture. Arranged alphabetically.

Series IV: Photographs

This series contains photographs, most of which were taken by Joanna Banks at events featuring a large variety of Black authors. Arranged chronologically. A small number of unlabeled candid photographs are also present.

For additional information on Black authors, please see Series II.

Many of the individuals pictured in the photographs are identified. A listing of those names follows.

Small album of black woman author portraits (black and white), featuring: Toni Cade Bambara, Margo Barnett, Eugenia Collier, Mari F, Julia Fields, Niki Giovanni, Kristin Hunter, June Jordan, Paule Marhsall, Toni Morrison, Ntozake Shange, Sonia Sanchez, Eleanor Traylor, Brenda Wilkinson, Sherley Williams.

Candid photographs (color), featuring: Bernice Reagon, Ysage Marie Barnwell, Judith Jameson, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Verta Mac Grossvenor, Sharon Pratt Kelly, Eleanor Traylor, Bebe Moore Campbell, Sharon Bell Mathis, Marsha J. Darling, Carolivia Heron (and her mother).

"Black Writers Converse" photo album #1, featuring: Ntozake Shange, Toni Cade Bambara, Eleanor Traylor, Andre Lorde, Sonia Sanchez, Eloise Greenfield, Carol Parks, Toni Morrison, and Julia Fields.

"Black Writers Converse" photo album #2, featuring: Sterling Brown, Dudley Randall, Samuel Allen, Lance Jeffers, Margaret Borroughs, Mari Evans, Clay Goss, Bernard Bell, Sarah Webster Fabio, Joanna Banks, Owen Dobson, Theodore Hudson, Sonia Sanchez, Margaret Walker Alexander, John O. Killens, Sarah Fabio, Ted Hudson, Leon Dumas, Eugene Redmond, Quincy Troupe, Don L. Lee, E. Ethelbert Miller, Amiri Baraka, Leroi Jones, June Jordan, Lucille Clifton, Gwendolyn Brooks, Jayne Cortez, Gil Scott Heron, Hollie West, Hugh Masekela, Willard Modley, Mel Lewis, Steven Henderson, Leon Dumas, Nick Aaron Ford, Addison Gayle, Askia Muhammed, Houston Baker, J. Sauders Redding, George Kent, Michael Harper, Lucille Clifton, Arthenia Bates Millican, Jerry Ward, Eloise Greenfield, Malkia Roberts, Jerry Ward, Ishmael Reed, Robert Hayden, Niki Giovanni, E. Ethelbert Miller, Maya Angelou, Ossie Davis, Alice Childress, Paule Marshall, John Henrik Clark, Samuel Yette, and C.L.R. James.

"Magical Memories" photo album. "Photographs by Joanna Banks [of] African American Writers." Featuring: Claudia Tate, Alexis DeVeux, June Jordan, J. California Cooper, Mae Miller, Alice Walker, Sharon Bell Mathis, Shay Youngblood, Verta May Grosvenor, Mary Helen Washington, Gloria Naylor, Dolores Kendrick, Valerie Jean Kwelismith, Gloria Wade Gayles, Joyce Ann Joyce, Barbara W. Savage, Michelle Cliff, Jewelle Gomez, Gayle Porter, Jina McElroy Ansa, Pearle Cleaque, Michele Parkerson, Barbara Branden, Jill Nelson, Darlene Clark Hine, Sonja Williams, Bell Hooks, Donna Hill, Dori Sanders, Louise Meriwether, Charlotte Watson Sherman, Frances Cross Welsing, Carolivia Herron, Marsha J. Darling, Sharon Bell Mathis, Octavia Butler, Juffy Simpkins, Gwendolyn Brooks, Francine Hashkins, Mari Evans, Barbara Jordan, Sharon Farmer, Alice Walker, Jiajuana Malone, Linda Feats. Marquita Sykes, Toni Morrison, Lucile Clifton, Ted Hudson, Sonia Sanchez, Niki Giovanni, Delores Kendrick, Barbara Neely, Toni Cade Bambara.

"Memories" photo album. "Photographs by Joanna Banks [of] African American Writers." Featuring: Varnette Honeywood, Jewel Gomez, Mae Miller, Kwelismith, Dorothy Porter, Elizabeth Catlett, Angela Davis, June Jordan, Carole Ione, Elizabeth Alexander, Alexis Deveaux, Elizabeth Hadley Fredyberg, Ntozake Shange, Pearl Cleague, Verta Mae Grosveror, Claudia Tate, Barbara Savage, Marita Golden, Sharon Harley, Roslyn Jerborg, Aleia Bundles, Terri McMillian, Joni Cade Bambara, Ellease Southerland, Elizabeth Alexander, Cornel West, Edward Jones, Samuel Delaney, Sterling Brown, Amiri Baraka, E. Ethelbert Miller, Samuel Yette, Fred Wilson, Jonell Nash, Sonja Williams, Jessica Harris, Leah Chase, Karen Hess, Chef Joe Randall.

Series V: Joanna Banks papers

This series contains a variety of works by Joanna Banks. It includes academic papers she wrote, bibliographies of her personal book collection, and a small selection of poetry and correspondence. The correspondence is mainly between Banks and Barbara Neely or Darlene Clark Hine, and appears to be informal conversations between friends.

Arranged chronologically.

Series VI: Ephemera

This series contains a variety of ephemera, mostly pamphlets and event related fliers for art exhibits or cultural events. A fair amount of this material is from the Anacostia Community Museum. Arranged alphabetically.

Series I: African American foodways and recipes Series II: Black authors and artists Series III: Black history and culture Series IV: Photographs Series V: Joanna Banks papers Series VI: Ephemera

Gift of Joanna Banks, February 14, 2019.

Joanna Banks Collection of African American Books

https://www.library.upenn.edu/collections/notable/joanna-banks-collection

Subject

Publisher
University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
Finding Aid Author
Kenneth Cleary
Finding Aid Date
2024 May 24
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

Copyright restrictions may exist. For most library holdings, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania do not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the requester to seek permission from the holder of the copyright to reproduce material from the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Collection Inventory

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A Date with a Dish: A Cookbook of American Negro Recipes, by Freda de Knight, 1948.
Box 1 Folder 1
Melrose Plantation Cookbook," by Francois Mignon and Clementine Hunter, 1956.
Box 1 Folder 2
The Historical Cookbook of the American Negro, by the National Council of Negro Women, 1958.
Box 1 Folder 3
Black Heritage Recipes to Treasure, by Willa Mitchell, 1968.
Box 1 Folder 4
A Book of Favorite Recipes, by the Women's Club of Emmanuel Baptist Church, 1968.
Box 1 Folder 5
The Negro Chef Cookbook, by Leonard E. Roberts, 1969.
Box 1 Folder 6
Recipe and article clippings, circa 1970-2000.
Box 1 Folder 7-14
Newspaper clippings, circa 1970-2010.
Box 1 Folder 15
African American foodways binder, circa 1980-2000.
Box 1 Folder 16-17
The Buster Holmes Restaurant Cookbook, by Buster Holmes, Inc., 1980.
Box 1 Folder 18
Soul and Traditional Southern Food Practices, Customs, and Holidays, by the American Diabetic Association, 1993.
Box 1 Folder 19
Soul Cookin' Southern Style, by Melvett G. Chambers, 1993.
Box 2 Folder 1
A Traveler's Collection of Black Cooking, by Yvonne M. Jenkins, 1994.
Box 2 Folder 2
I Don't Be Measuring That Stuff: Food and Life in the College Hill Community, by The Institute of Black Life, University of South Florida, 1994.
Box 2 Folder 3
Ephemera, 1998 and undated.
Box 2 Folder 4

Black artists (former binder), 1973-2011.
Box 2 Folder 5-7
Black artists (former black binder), 1974-2000.
Box 2 Folder 8-10
Black artists (former brown binder), 1990-1995.
Box 2 Folder 11
Black Women in the Arts, A Tradition of Distinction and Accomplishment, undated.
Box 7
Black women writers - article clippings, 1980-1990.
Box 3 Folder 12
Black Women's Arts Resource Collective (BWARC), 1985-2006.
Box 2 Folder 13-14
Children's literature (former binder), 1974-2008.
Box 2 Folder 15-16
Children's literature, 1974-2008.
Box 2 Folder 17-18
Hungry Mind Review, State of the Book, 1996.
Box 7
John N. Robinson, 1993 and undated.
Box 2 Folder 19
Joyce J. Scott, 1990-2009.
Box 2 Folder 20
Octavia Butler, 1985-2006.
Box 3 Folder 21
Storytelling, 1981-2007.
Box 2 Folder 22
Storytelling, 1981-2007.
Box 3 Folder 1-2
Touching History Through Grandparents by J.C. Nalle Students, 1985.
Box 3 Folder 3
Washington Review, 1991.
Box 7

Association of Black Women Historians newsletter, 1993-1996.
Box 3 Folder 4
Black History Month, USA Today special edition, circa 2016.
Box 7
Black women in history and historiography, circa 1970 - 2010.
Box 3 Folder 5-9
Black history and culture {former binders}, circa 1970 - 2000.
Box 3 Folder 10
Broadcasting Freedom: Radio, War, and the Roots of Civil Rights Liberalism, 1938-1948, 1995.
Box 3 Folder 11
Collectibles and memorabilia, 1980-2013.
Box 3 Folder 12
Collectibles and memorabilia, 1980-2013.
Box 4 Folder 1-8
Doll stand, undated.
Box 7
Drum & Spear Bookstore catalog #3, 1971.
Box 4 Folder 9
En-Act: Black Women's Identity in Action, 1981.
Box 4 Folder 10
Herstory in Silhouette, Vol 1 & 2, 1985-1986.
Box 4 Folder 11
Holidays: Juneteenth, Kwanzaa, Christmas, 1989-2015.
Box 4 Folder 12
LGBTQ culture and history, 1980-1996.
Box 4 Folder 13-14
Lynching in the American West, 1900-1940 by Barbara D. Savage, 1991.
Box 4 Folder 15
Material culture (former binder), circa 1980-2000.
Box 5 Folder 1-2
Our Story Before and Beyond: A Poetic Look at Black History, undated.
Box 5 Folder 3
Symbols, circa 2000.
Box 5 Folder 4
Tenure dossier of Professor Elizabeth Hadley Freydberg, 1995.
Box 5 Folder 5
Two dolls with wicker basket and eggs, undated.
Box 7

Small portrait album of black women authors, circa 1975.
Box 5 Folder 6
Black writers conference, album #1, 1976.
Box 5 Folder 7
Black writers conference, album #2, 1976.
Box 5 Folder 8
Memories, photographs of African American writers by Joanna Banks, circa 1990-1995.
Box 5 Folder 9
Magical Memories, photographs of African American writers by Joanna Banks, circa 1990-1995.
Box 5 Folder 10
Candid photographs, undated.
Box 5 Folder 11
Schroeder Cherry and his puppets, undated.
Box 5 Folder 12

Humor in Living Black & White or Laughing to Keep from Crying, 1966.
Box 5 Folder 13
Can Modern and Contemporary Black Poetry be Judged by Black Aesthetics?, 1973.
Box 5 Folder 14
A Coltrane Anthology: His Life, Death, and Legacy. Selected and edited by Joanna Banks, 1976.
Box 5 Folder 15
Simple Justice: The History of Brown vs. Board of Education and Black America's Struggle for Equality, 1976.
Box 5 Folder 16
Wayward Child: A Personal Odyssey by Addison Gayle, Jr. Reviewed by Joanna Banks, 1977.
Box 5 Folder 17
The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison: A Review by Joanna Banks, 1977.
Box 5 Folder 18
Is There a Black Aesthetic?, circa 1977.
Box 5 Folder 19
Literary Racism and its Effect on Self-concepts and Reading Attitudes of Black Inner-City Children: A Review of the Literature, 1977.
Box 5 Folder 20
From Negro Self-concept to Black Self-concept, 1977.
Box 5 Folder 21
I See Me! The Positive Effects of Black Literature as Black Inner City Children, 1977.
Box 5 Folder 22
Site Visitation Report: The Acton School, 1979.
Box 6 Folder 23
Site Visitation Report: The Childhood Development Center, 1979.
Box 6 Folder 1
The Black Struggle for an Education in Kentucky, 1979.
Box 6 Folder 2
Let the Lion Eat Straw, by Elisase Southerland. A Review, 1979.
Box 6 Folder 3
The Personality Dynamics of an Eminent Black Woman Writer, 1980.
Box 6 Folder 4
Racism's Effect on the Self and Self-concept of Black Americans, 1980.
Box 6 Folder 5
The Mythology of Women and Some Psychological Consequences of Being a Black Woman in the United States, 1980.
Box 6 Folder 6
From My Shelf: A Bibliography of Works By and About Black Women, 1986.
Box 6 Folder 7
From My Shelf: A Bibliography of Works By and About Black Women, 1987.
Box 6 Folder 8
From My Shelf: A Bibliography of Works By and About Black Women, 1987.
Box 6 Folder 9
From My Shelf: A Bibliography of Works By and About African American Women, 1991.
Box 6 Folder 10
Correspondence, 1991-1992.
Box 6 Folder 11
From My Shelf: A Bibliography of Works By and About African American Women, 1992.
Box 6 Folder 12
Songs for Kujichagulia: Black Women Celebrating Our Self Determination, selected by Joanna Banks, 1992.
Box 6 Folder 13
From My Shelf: A Bibliography of Works By and About Black Women, 1995.
Box 6 Folder 14
Essays, undated.
Box 6 Folder 15
From My Shelf: Religion, Spirituality, Health, Healing, and Self-Help. A Bibliography.
Box 6 Folder 16
Poetry, undated.
Box 6 Folder 17
Racism's Contribution to Psychopathological Behavior in Urban Black Children, undated.
Box 6 Folder 18

Ephemera - Anacostia Museum, 1997-1998.
Box 6 Folder 19
Ephemera, 1973-2016.
Box 6 Folder 20-22
Newspaper clippings, 1973-1999.
Box 6 Folder 23
Fox plush doll, undated.
Box 7 Folder Unknown

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