During the 1930s, she worked as principal at Fuller Normal School in
Greenville, South Carolina. Dr. Banks first traveled to Liberia as a
Methodist missionary in 1939. She became a professor at
Liberia College in 1942. She was dean of
William V. S. Tubman Teachers College until 1955, when she became an administrator at the University of Liberia. In 1959, she became Director of Higher Education and Textbook Research in Liberia's Department of Public Instruction. In that role, she worked for
Africanization in curricular materials, saying "It should be the policy of African schools to include in all programs as much literature written by Africans as is available." She served as president of the Liberian National Teachers Organization and the National YMCA, and chaired the Liberian Methodist Board of Education. She rose to the rank of Assistant Minister of Education in 1978. Banks Henries wrote a biography of Liberian president
William V. S. Tubman, published in 1967. She also edited collections of Liberian poetry (1963), and of Liberian folklore (1967). In her work as a government official, she was credited as author of many official reports, textbooks, and books about Liberia for young readers. She served as president of the Society of Liberian Authors. ==Selected works==