Federal judge and civil rights icon Damon J. Keith, who passed away Sunday morning at age 96, left a legacy well beyond the ground-breaking decisions he made from the bench during his career that spanned well over 60 years.
In his hometown of Detroit, there was an elementary school named for him on the city’s east side and the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights opened in 2011 on the campus of Wayne State University where he earned a master of laws degree in 1956. But the Damon J. Keith Scholarship may have the biggest impact for decades to come.
The scholarship was established in 2008 by Wayne State University’s Board of Governors to honor the judge’s determination to defy the odds as a law school applicant and make a difference in our society. The Damon J. Keith Scholarship is based on merit and is awarded to law students that emulate the type of commitment to social equality and combating racism that has been demonstrated by Judge Keith throughout his career. There are more than 50 “DJK Scholars” to date, each chosen because they embodied what Judge Keith stood for.
“My hope for the Damon J. Keith Scholar community is that we continue his work and inspire others the way he has inspired so many of us,” said Ian Larkin, who attended Detroit Renaissance and is a Wayne Law class of 2017 graduate. “We were given a great opportunity to pursue higher education. We have a duty to pay it forward.”
The 2019 class of Damon J. Keith Scholarship recipients were announced at the beginning of April. One of the awardees, Keshava Kirkland, is scheduled to graduate from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law May 10. Kirkland, 24, admitted that she did not initially know who Judge Keith was when she first aspired to practice law. But when she interned at the United States District Court, she attended his annual soul food luncheon, which has been going on for 32 years and is a celebration of local leadership and achievement in the African American community in Detroit. It was there that Kirkland was able to witness first-hand the charm of Judge Damon J. Keith.
“It was great to see a bunch of black attorneys, judges, legislators, and entrepreneurs all in one spot at Judge Keith’s chambers,” said Kirkland. “Judge Keith was in his wheelchair, but he commanded the room when he spoke. Everyone was silent; he spoke so eloquently and every word was with purpose. It was an honor to encounter him. He was someone that I admired for his fearlessness and dedication to combating racism at every level.”
In one of the federal judiciary’s longest and most prolific careers, Judge Keith was a source of regional rulings with national implications. He attacked racial segregation in education, housing and employment; conservative efforts to limit African American voting; and other landmark decisions that changed the social and legal landscape of the country.
Born July 4, 1922, Keith was the grandson of enslaved people. He graduated from Detroit Northwestern High School in 1939, and obtained degrees from West Virginia State College (1943), Howard University (1946), Wayne State University (1956), and more than 40 honorary degrees, including one from Harvard University.
He experienced and escaped racism, discrimination, and segregation, served in the segregated Army in World War II, and went on to become the sixth African American in U.S. history to serve on the federal court of appeals.
“Judge Keith is proof that we all can achieve the unimaginable,” said Monique Eubanks, a 2019 recipient of the Damon J. Keith Scholarship. “The scholarship afforded me the opportunity to attend law school and it’s a continuous reminder that the doors have been opened for me to accomplish my biggest dreams.”
A public visitation will be held May 11 from 8-8 p.m. at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History (315 E. Warren Avenue). Judge Keith’s homegoing celebration is scheduled for May 13 at 10 a.m. at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church (18700 James Couzens Freeway). The service will be simulcast at Wayne State’s Community Arts Auditorium, 450 Reuther Mall. He will be interred at Roseland Park Cemetery, 29001 N. Woodward Ave. in Berkley. The Swanson Funeral Home is handling the services.
