Reading Time: 3 minutes The case for a secular society has been made by our movement. Now we must organize and build power to realize it. I came to UnKoch My Campus in need of a job and figured that I could help a rag-tag group of unorganized co-founders build a digital program to “fight undue influence” and bring […]
Jasmine Banks
Jasmine has spent the last five years dedicated to leading an intervention campaign, UnKoch My Campus, addressing the impact of far-right billionaires leveraging their philanthropic donations in higher education to erode democracy. During the campaigns she organized multiple campuses, coalitions, and provided movement support to hundreds of students, educators, and community activists. Jasmine has traveled to a number of higher ed institutions to speak with students and faculty about donor transparency and academic freedom. She was most recently honored to give a keynote for the Higher Education division of the American Federation of Teachers She has more than 10 years of progressive advocacy, movement building, and organizing experience. Jasmine is also a former licensed therapist, Chief Marketing Officer, and small business owner.
Jasmine received both her B.S. in Psychology and Communications and her M.A. in Community Counseling from John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. In addition to her roles at UnKoch My Campus, Jasmine is a national speaker on radical self-care for people of color, a workshop facilitator for “Waking Up White” ally training, and a national workshop facilitator for “Cross Movement Collaboration.” In 2019, Jasmine was a part of the Rockwood Strengthening Democracy cohort, and she is honored to be a part of the Higher Heights Black Women Civic Leader Fellowship 2020. She currently served on an advisory committee for Liberation in a Generation and she is a Democracy and Belonging Forum participant with the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley. She continues to support numerous organizations interested in developing and implementing anti-oppressive strategies as an organizer and consultant.
Jasmine is a mother of four, a proud Southerner, and a passionate supporter of her queer Black community. Jasmine co-founded Reconcile Arkansas and co-produces “Parenting is Political” with her wife, Mo. She has spoken with members of the media in many formats, from print (The New York Times Magazine), to podcasts, and a variety of outlets online, including The Nation, WSJ, Teen Vogue, and many more, on topics ranging from academic freedom to digital organizing, race, climate, democracy, parenthood and more.