(Christian Headlines) Dr. Melvin Banks Sr., owner of Urban Ministries, Inc., which is the largest independent Black-owned and operated publishing company in America, passed away at 86 years old.
C. Jeffrey Wright, Urban Ministries, CEO, told The Christian Post in a statement that “Dr. Banks was a revolutionary publisher and giant for the African American church and community. He was the first to create contextualized content that portrayed positive images of African Americans in the Bible. Because of his innovation, UMI has reached millions of Black churches and individuals with the Gospel.”
Dr. Banks was known for highlighting a historical understanding of the people groups in the Bible, and he often portrayed Biblical characters in the skin shade they most likely would have been in real life. This came at a time when biblical characters were white-washed in American churches, so he was considered a controversial figure for highlighting these historical inaccuracies.