Rick Banks served through LISC AmeriCorps in 2014-2015 with the Harambee Great Neighborhood Initiative (HGNI). Rick attributes his LISC AmeriCorps experience to his present-day work in community development and engagement. Rick Banks is currently working as an Economic Development Specialist with the City of Milwaukee’s Department of City Development; and he is also the founder and Executive Director of MKE Black, which you’ll hear more about shortly!
As a LISC AmeriCorps member with the HGNI, Rick was responsible for working as a lead organizer, where he engaged with a diverse group of residents from the Harambee neighborhood and implemented community engagement programming and events with an intergenerational focus. He canvassed and met with residents to discuss their vision for Clinton Rose Park, as well as solicited input from senior citizens regarding the senior citizen facility and amenities. Rick also coordinated community resource fairs, along with youth-focused initiatives that included upgrading the basketball courts and recreational spaces within Rose Park and throughout the Harambee neighborhood.
When asked about the skills he acquired through his LISC AmeriCorps experience, Rick credits his service to connecting with community residents and gaining more understanding about their lived experiences. “I had never done door to door canvassing before. My AmeriCorps experience taught me how to listen to what people are saying, instead of pushing a message on them”, said Banks. In addition, Rick also learned how to properly facilitate community meetings and highlighted that, “it’s a different setting than meeting with your peers versus meeting with community members.” Not only did Rick assist with community organizing with HGNI, but he also helped with the formation of Rose Park Friend as an official nonprofit organization. Rick said, “it was my first time organizing a 501 c3 nonprofit, and I used a lot of what I learned from that to form MKE Black.”
Rick notes that prior to his LISC AmeriCorps experience, he viewed service from a politically oriented perspective due to his academic background in political science and economics. Initially, his political background taught him that in theory, one should study the issues of a community and then go and help solve them. However, his experience with AmeriCorps revealed to him that service was truly about connecting with community members and listening to what issues are actually important to them.
Rick has found a lot of value in his LISC AmeriCorps experience, and he believes that is what kept him connected to LISC Milwaukee. Shortly after his LISC AmeriCorps service term, Rick went on to participate in the ACRE (Associate’s in Commercial Real Estate) Program, an industry-supported initiative that recruits and retains people of color for careers in commercial real estate.
Serving in LISC AmeriCorps paved the way for Rick’s professional endeavors. Along with exposure to the nonprofit world, Rick also believes service helped him lay the groundwork for his personal innovation, MKE Black. MKE Black is an innovative digital platform that connects community residents to Black owned businesses in the Milwaukee community. “The heart of MKE Black is a database, but everything else has grown around it”, says Banks. MKE Black now includes social media platforms that highlight the positive things happening in Milwaukee’s black community, along with an expansive list of resources and information. Over the summer, MKE Black provided free market space for Black-owned vendors to sell their products and services.
“I am appreciative to have had the opportunity to do the program and anybody that wants to break into nonprofit world should also consider service with LISC AmeriCorps. I hope there are opportunities for the federal government to expand the program and raise the living stipend for those who are interested in serving”, says Banks. Rick continues to express his gratitude for the experience he had as a LISC AmeriCorps member and encourages more young people to participate in the service experience.