“Crusader for Justice: Federal Judge Damon J. Keith” by Peter J. Hammer and Trevor W. Coleman (Wayne State University Press, 2013) chronicles the life of Judge Damon J. Keith. Written from the perspective of Judge Keith, the narrative is primarily taken from countless interviews of Keith by the authors, and complemented by contextual research and insight derived from persons who have lived and worked in close proximity to Judge Keith.
The impetus of the book emanates from Keith’s activities as a preeminent attorney and political activist, and how these ultimately led to his appointment as a Federal judge to the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and then to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Damon Jerome Keith, a grandson of American slaves, was born in Detroit in July 4,1922. The symbolism of his birthdate and his heritage resonate throughout his crusade for justice. Despite insurmountable obstacles in a society rife with discriminatory, inhumane and unfair practices against persons of color and the poor, Keith determined to advance the spirit of the Declaration of Independence.
To a large extent, this book illuminates essential aspects of Keith’s judicial decisions. It is a must-read for all law students, and for anyone interested in civil rights history. The chapters focused on famous cases provide insight into the reasoning of affirmative action, and sound understanding of the role of the judiciary in the balance of power in government and society.
In the Pontiac Busing Case, Keith identified indisputable evidence of discrimination of Black school children by the Pontiac Michigan School District. In the Detroit Police Case, he exposed the mechanism of exclusion against minority applicants and employees. And in United States v. Sinclair, he chastised President Nixon’s administration for illegal wiretapping. These rulings are critical to understanding how certain behaviors and practices by persons, institutions and government assured unfair, discriminatory treatment and undermined the rights of American citizens.
Keith’s judicial decisions were monumental because he clearly delineated systemic discriminatory practices ingrained in institutional culture. These ruling were critical to the recognition of racism in education and in employment and for the constitutional protection of all citizens regardless of race. The book also provides historical context for these case, and the societal reactions at the time. Members of the Ku Klux Klan bombed school buses, and the judge’s life was threatened.
Damon Keith was the youngest child of Annie and Perry Keith, who like many African Americans, joined the first great migration from the South to Detroit in pursuit of a better life, away from the economic tyranny of sharecropping and the indignity of Jim Crow.
Perry Keith found employment as a machinist at the Ford Motor Company, and he determined that his youngest son, Damon, would get a college education. Despite racial discrimination at Northwestern High School, Damon Keith excelled academically and athletically.
Upon graduation and with the financial assistance of a cousin, he was able to attend West Virginia State College, a historically Black institution. Keith packed his personal items into a pillowcase and a woman’s suitcase and boarded a train with a bag of his mother’s fried chicken. When the train entered West Virginia, he was forced to move to the “colored section,” encountering the humiliation of Jim Crow for the first time.
In college, Keith majored in Political Science and Sociology, pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, ran track and was inspired by exposure to Black intellectualism. In 1943 he graduated, fulfilling his father’s dream; but shortly after he returned home, his father died. That same year he witnessed a horrific race riot in Detroit and shortly thereafter was drafted into a segregated army to fight in World War II.
After the war, the persistence of racial discrimination in the United Sates prompted his decision to become an attorney. Although accepted at all three law schools in Detroit, he chose Howard University School of Law, where he came under the tutelage of Thurgood Marshall, who became the first African American appointed the U. S. Supreme Court.
Marshall honed and channeled Keith’s desire to fight racial discrimination into a professional purpose, to “make the United States live up to its principles” as expressed in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
While studying for the Michigan Bar examination, Keith cleaned restrooms in the Detroit News building.
Even after achieving the stature of an appellate judge, Keith sometimes encountered insulting situations and remarks, demonstrating the lingering, pervasiveness of racism.
Like his mentor, as a young attorney Keith invested much of his talents and energy into the NAACP. His close friendship with Dr. Arthur L. Johnson is recounted; the two helped to build the Detroit chapter into the largest in the nation. His involvement with the Democratic Party and Detroit politics intersected with the activities of Coleman A. Young, Robert Millender, Congressmen John Conyers and Charles Diggs, Jr., among many other Black leaders. As a political leader, Keith helps to form New Detroit after the 1967 Detroit riot.
As key events in Keith’s life unfold, we are reminded of how his parents, his siblings, his extended family, and especially his wife, Rachel Boone Keith, influenced his core values. Likewise, his emotional response to two race riots in Detroit and disturbing personal encounters with racism in various forms are reflected and referenced as experiences that influenced his evolution as a person and a judge.
However, Keith’s character rarely allowed him to respond with overt anger. He used his Christian faith to control his agitation. His congenial demeanor was maintained in and outside of the courtroom. He enjoyed the collegial discussions with fellow judges and a diverse lineup of clerks, who extended his legacy through their preeminent legal and political careers. Too numerous to list, they became leading attorneys in all facets of law, as well as in prestigious positions in public, corporate and governmental offices.
Two chapters in the book attempt to explain interesting and possibly problematic relationships in Judge Keith’s professional and political life — his friendship with U. S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his conflict with the current president of the Detroit Branch NAACP, Rev. Wendell Anthony.
Most of Keith’s legal and personal friends have not enjoined this amicable relationship with Thomas, primarily because Thomas’ political persuasion and legal practices are the antithesis of Keith’s.
While Keith accepts Thomas, despite his reactionary legal posture, Keith’s conflict with Wendell Anthony’s politics is clearly vitriolic. This acrimony stems from the view that Anthony destroyed the financial stability and political prominence of the NAACP chapter in Detroit. Keith feels Anthony dismantled decades of work that he and others invested in developing the organization.
But just as overt anger is directed towards Anthony, the subsequent chapter is tempered by Keith’s intense love for his wife, Dr. Rachel Boone Keith, a brilliant physician and his soul mate. Their partnership, rich with tenderness and affection, is a testament to true equality in a marriage.
“Without her support,” says Keith, “I would not be a federal judge today. And without her love, I would not have known happiness all of our years together.”
Keith has received numerous honors and awards, but the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at the WSU Law School is perhaps the most appropriate tribute of all.
Keith defied doubt, negativity and racist, historical circumstances to ascend to one of the most powerful and respected positions in the American judicial system. He was determined to change the racial landscape of America through law and political activism, and by providing leadership and opportunity for those following his example.
Judge Damon J. Keith’s humility, resilience, faith and commitment to justice benefitted a society that needed to change, and his sensitivity and legal prowess profoundly impacted the American judicial system and its responsibility to assure freedom for all citizens through “equal justice under law.”
