Making a Masterpiece: Carolyn Michael-Banks

Carolyn Michael-Banks

Founder and Owner, A Tour of Possibilities

Carolyn Michael-Banks is the founder and owner of A Tour of Possibilities (ATOP), an African American historical and cultural sightseeing tour she founded nearly a decade ago. She talked with us about her family history, her mother’s impact on her life, and her favorite parts of her work exposing visitors and locals alike to the rich history of Memphis. 

How did you first get into the hospitality industry? 

I was in college, on summer break in Washington, D.C. I was sitting in my sister's

house and I told her I was bored. She said, “It's against the law to be bored in the nation's capital.” She told me to get out of her house and find something to do. So I took a tour and loved it and started doing tours. By the 1980s, I was the general manager for a national sightseeing company. 

What is something you learned that has changed your life for the better?

That all things are, in fact, possible. One of the reasons I started my company and named it A Tour of Possibilities was because that was one of my mother's biggest lessons for me. I grew up in the Bronx, in the projects, and I would look out the window and daydream. My mother held the belief that all things are possible. She worked at Harlem Hospital. She came home one day and asked if I wanted to go to Africa. I'm like, “Yeah, we'll go to Africa. Then we'll go to the moon. Maybe Mars.” It’s not that I didn't want to go, but on the 6th floor, in the projects, on paper, that wasn't going to happen. She said, “I’m not asking you what it says on paper. I’m asking if you want to go. I’m going. You want to go with me?” So I spent my 14th birthday in Ghana. And knew that all things were possible.

What's your favorite part about the industry?

Meeting the people that I perhaps will never see again, but with whom I felt a real  connection. 

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted initially to be a doctor. And so my mother, who was extremely wise, let me be a candy striper in the hospital where she worked so I could try it. And I quickly found out that was not for me. I discovered that I’m an empath – I take on other people’s pain.  And therefore I knew that was not the profession for me because I'd walk in and hang out with some people and I'd walk out exhausted.

I do think I’ve channeled my empathy for others into my work with A Tour of Possibilities because some of the stories and history we deal with are really hard. So how can we talk about it? Because we need to talk about it. I’ve been trying to create a space that allows those conversations to happen. That’s one of the reasons I love to give tours in smaller vehicles, when possible, because that smaller space really allows those conversations to happen. I can tell when people really want to ask you a difficult question, and we create a safe place for them. 

What are your top three favorite places to visit in Memphis?

The Mason Temple, The National Civil Rights Museum, and Jim and Samella's Restaurant.

Thank you, Carolyn, for your inspiring example to do what you love and make it your own!