Katherine Bell Banks was born to Thomas Bell, M.D., and Pearl Bell in 1912. They moved from their home in Tennessee to Brooklyn, New York in 1916. There they shared a two family house with W.E.B. Du Bois and his family. Dr. Bell and Dr. Du Bois developed a strong friendship during this time and the families remained close for years. The Bells settled in Newark, New Jersey in 1922. Dr. Du Bois remained a frequent guest in the Bells' house, and was godfather to the Bells' youngest daughter, Thomasina.
Katherine enrolled at Montclair University in 1929 after her graduation from Barringer High School in Newark. She received her B.A. in French in 1934 and a year later entered Columbia University where she obtained her M.A. in French. Banks taught at Talladega University in Alabama for seven years and then returned to her alma mater, Barringer High School. She retired from Newark's Vailsburg High School in 1980.
From the guide to the Katherine Bell Banks Papers MS 429., 1926-1960, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries)
