Draft:Rick Banks

Rick Banks (Born July, 1991) is an African-American, American community organizer and activist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Early life and education
Banks studied at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). While serving as President of the Black Student Union at UWM, Banks organized a "Rally for Trayvon Martin and the Fallen" to pay tribute to the victims of and bring attention to police brutality in the United States and locally..

Banks graduated from the Associates in Commercial Real Estate (ACRE) Program, a joint program of Marquette University, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee School of Engineering and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation - Milwaukee that trains women and minorities on the real estate development process, in 2017.

Career
In 2016, while working as a community organizer, Banks led efforts to organize a Neighborhood Improvement District in the Harambee neighborhood to provide home repair grants to homeowners.

Starting in 2017 Banks served as Chair of the Riverwest & Harambee Credit Union (later renamed New Economy Credit Union) Organizing Committee as it launched its initial creation effort. This initiative was later dissolved in 2019 after struggling to raise the necessary funds.

In 2018, Banks made his first attempt to join the Wisconsin State Assembly, running for an open seat in the 16th Assembly District, being vacated by Rep. Leon Young, following his retirement after thirteen terms in office. He placed 3rd out of 5, receiving 977 votes.

Banks served as Political Director for Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC), where he worked to increase turnout for Democratic Party candidates in the spring 2020 elections. While in this role, he met and knock doors in Milwaukee with then presidential candidates Cory Booker and Julian Castro

In 2020, Banks co-founded MKE Black Incorporated, a non-profit that promotes Milwaukee's Black owned businesses through it's online database & mobile app.

In 2024, Banks announced his second attempt to join the Wisconsin State Assembly, running for an open seat in Wisconsin's 11th Assembly District being vacated by Rep. Dora Drake after serving two terms in the Assembly. Rep. Drake announced her intention to run for Wisconsin State Senate in the 4th Senate District following the appointment of State Senator Lena Taylor to Circuit Court Judge by Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers after five-terms in office.

Personal life and family
Banks is openly gay/same-gender loving and married his husband, Javon, in February 2020.