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[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.
____________________