Banks, William Venoid, 1903-1985

found: A legacy of dreams, 1998:CIP t.p. (Dr. William Venoid Banks) galley (1903-1985)

found: African American National Biography, accessed December 13, 2014, via Oxford African American Studies Center database:(Banks, William Venoid; radio and television pioneer, Masonic Christian Order founder, ordained Baptist minister, lawyer, businessman; born 06 May 1903 in Geneva, Kentucky, United States; graduated from Lincoln Institute of Kentucky; Wayne State University (1926) and Detroit College of Law (1929) and the Detroit Baptist Seminary (1948); head of the International Labor Defense League (ILDL) (1931); became an ordained Baptist minister (1949); founded the International Free and Accepted Modern Masons (IFAMM) in Detroit (1950); organized and established the Universal Barber College and the International School of Cosmetology (1957) which purchased a small radio station, WGPR (Where God's Presence Radiates) in Detroit (1964-1975); created the first black-owned and -operated television station (TV-62) in the United States (1975); WGPR TV-62 was the first Detroit television station to offer twenty-four-hour programming; died 24 August 1985 in Detroit, Michigan, United States)