Friends of Jimmy Banks Community Mural Project
'Reaching Your Potential'
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| Mural installed at Jimmy Banks Memorial Stadium, 4300 W. Fairmount Ave. Milwaukee, WI |
When I leave this world, I want to be able to say that I've done something for someone. I think by helping these kids, teaching them good values, not only teaching but motivating — if I can do that, I've done my job.”
~ Jimmy Banks
It's been a heartwarming experience, learning about the work he's done with youth in the local community after reaching the world stage and getting to know the people who knew him as friends, family and colleagues. My first interaction with them was at the Bavarian Club, for a meet and greet and mini reunion of soccer coaches and his friends and family, to get to know a little about them and hear their stories. It was a small intimate gathering of folks who grew up with him, had been mentored and coached by or with him, and soccer parents of young people. It was a chance to sit with them, talk and listen to them speak about why they feel his work is so impactful.
JIMMY BANKS HISTORY
Jimmy grew up in the Westlawn housing projects on Milwaukee's north-side. He practiced soccer as a kid, kicking the ball around and getting teased by the other kids who liked the more popular sport of basketball. Jimmy was one of the two first African-American players to play on the U.S. Men's National Team and they played for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. When he came back, an injury prevented him from playing professionally. He coached young black youth in Milwaukee's inner city neighborhoods, offering them access to a sport that is largely upper-middle class and white (in the U.S.). He co-founded the Milwaukee Simba's and coached for MSOE for many years until his death from pancreatic cancer in 2019.
I heard stories from people who were deeply impacted by his mentoring and coaching, which went beyond playing soccer to life skills that unearthed a young persons potential. Respect was really important to him, teamwork, and seeing one's potential beyond the sport. Listening to their stories left an impact on my heart that surprised me.
COMMUNITY DESIGN WORKSHOP
The first stage of the mural process was holding several visioning sessions for the soccer community to come together in one room and share their perspectives on what Jimmy's work meant to them. I needed to be able to gather their ideas in a collective, collaborative way. Their heart, warmth, dedication and commitment to service inspired me.
What moved me most was everyone kept coming back to the values of respect, and life skills, and Jimmy's style of coaching and philosophy being much more than the sport itself. For him, I gathered soccer is a vehicle to channel and develop one's potential, and to nurture that in young players. He helped increase the diversity in the local teams and through his vision helped inspire a younger generation of players and coaches with a different mindset and set of skills.
I felt he saw the people he worked with as more than just players; he wanted them to imagine a life beyond soccer if they wanted. The beauty of it for me was hearing him talk about the soccer being like art. Community art, specifically. The whole idea of not one person standing out, of working together, of there needing to be more fluidity in the game than other popular team sports.
After the design was done and officially revealed to the public, I spent several weeks filling in the concept with some of their ideas and stories about his work. The visioning sessions were key for me to be able to integrate the depth and heart of what this meant to the community. I felt it was important to honor the mark he left behind, on everyone's heart, and also the path he helped pave for future generations.
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