Barron Banks elected Moderator of the Presbytery of Mississippi

By Dr. Hilliard Lackey

JA Contributing Writer

Reverend Barron Banks, a Jackson State University philosophy professor of African descent, was unanimously elected Moderator of the mostly white Presbytery of Mississippi Tuesday, February 24, 2026.  The election was held during the stated (state-wide) meeting of the Mississippi Presbytery leadership held at the J.J. White Memorial Presbyterian Church in McComb.  Mississippi is divided into the St. Andrew Presbytery, which includes congregations in the northern part of the state, and the Mississippi Presbytery, which covers the southern part of the state. 

The office of the Moderator of the Mississippi Presbytery is the highest elected position in the Presbyterian Church at local, regional, and national levels. The Moderator is responsible for presiding over the meeting of the General Assembly. The Moderator serves as an ambassador of the denomination equivalent to the State President of other denominations. After completing the term, most former Moderators take on the role of a church statesman or stateswoman.

The Presbyterian denomination has been in Mississippi since at least 1800, 17 years before statehood in 1817, and throughout its history has grappled with the question of race and gender. The Mississippi Presbytery or Presbytery of Mississippi has evolved into diversity, equity, and inclusion. Although a distinct minority, African Americans, Latin Americans, and Asian Americans have found a home within the Mississippi Presbytery.  Noticeably, women are accorded equal rights and like the racial minorities have taken their places in leadership positions throughout Mississippi.

The nomination and election of Rev. Banks as Moderator was foreshadowed by his active involvement over the years. He worked his way up through the ranks.  In addition, he is effervescent, seminary trained, and has served as a Presbyterian pastor in four different states. He has a one-year term.

Rev. Banks is a native of Tchula, a Mississippi Delta town in Holmes County. He grew up in an environment where his mother was a college educated music teacher in the public schools and played piano for churches on Sundays. His father was a laborer. Young Barron gained notoriety as a 16-year old when he helped fellow Holmes Countian Robert G. Clark get elected as the first Black state legislator since Reconstruction. This led to the teenager marching with Dr. Martin Luther King on the James Meredith initiated Walk Against Fear in 1966. 

He attended Jackson State University, the University of Pittsburgh Divinity School, and is a lifelong learner.  He and First Lady Patricia Banks have been married 52 years and together have two grown sons and several grandchildren.