[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 77 (Thursday, May 9, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E563]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF JUDGE DAMON J. KEITH

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BRENDA L. LAWRENCE

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 9, 2019

  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Madam Speaker, on behalf of myself and Representative 
John Lewis, along with my colleagues, Representatives Karen Bass, Alma 
Adams, Colin Allred, G.K. Butterfield, Andre Carson, Yvette D. Clarke, 
Wm. Lacy Clay, Emanuel Cleaver, Marcia L. Fudge, Alcee L. Hastings, 
Hakeem Jeffries, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Robin Kelly, Gwen Moore, 
Eleanor Holmes Norton, Donald M. Payne, Jr., Ayanna Pressley, Cedric 
Richmond, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Bobby L. Rush, Bennie G. Thompson, Marc 
Veasey, and Senators Cory Booker and Kamala D. Harris, to honor the 
life of a great public servant, Judge Damon J. Keith. For over half a 
century, Judge Keith fought for justice, transparency, and civil 
liberties, setting an example for generations to come.
  Judge Keith was born on July 4, 1922--a fitting date for someone who 
so staunchly believed in American Democracy. The grandson of slaves, 
Judge Keith was a champion for racial equality. As he grew up in 
Detroit, he noticed that there were no African Americans in positions 
of power. He served in a segregated unit in World War II. Judge Keith 
always understood his importance in creating a more just nation.
  Damon attended Howard University, where he was mentored by future 
Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. In 1967, he was nominated to a 
seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of 
Michigan by President Johnson. This nomination came at the suggestion 
of Michigan Senator Philip Hart, the namesake of the Hart Senate Office 
Building. As a federal judge, Damon worked to end segregation in 
Michigan. He ordered for the bussing of ten thousand African American 
students in Pontiac to achieve racial integration. He also ordered the 
city of Hamtramck to relocate 500 African Americans who were displaced 
during a federally supported urban renewal project.
  These decisions were not popular at the time, and often resulted in 
Judge Keith receiving death threats. He never backed down, however, 
saying: ``I don't scare easily.'' In 1977, he was nominated by 
President Carter to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for 
the Sixth Circuit, a position he held until his passing on April 28, 
2019.
  Judge Keith was a champion for government transparency. In his most 
famous case, he ruled that the Nixon Administration had acted 
unlawfully when issuing domestic wiretaps, a decision which was 
unanimously by the Supreme Court. In 2002, he issued an opinion on the 
secret deportation hearings for alleged terrorists following the 
September 11th attacks. In another unanimous decision, he wrote: 
``Democracies die behind closed doors.'' These wise words remind us 
that the United States is a government of the people, by the people, 
and for the people.
  At the age of 94, Judge Keith was a firm supporter of voting rights, 
dissenting against voting restrictions in Ohio. He cited the sacrifices 
made by generations of civil rights leaders and refused to let voters 
be silenced after decades of struggle and perseverance. Judge Keith 
spent every single day committed to helping our country respect the 
dignity, worth, and equality of every human being--whether it was their 
right to vote, education, housing, employment, or privacy.
  Judge Keith will be sorely missed, but his years of tireless service 
as a champion for civil rights will never be forgotten.

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