By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
There will be a change of venue for the 33rd Annual Damon J. Keith Soul Food Luncheon, which has been a staple during Black History Month each year.
The event, as the name suggests, was founded by the late federal judge Damon J. Keith, who died last April at the age of 96 following a legendary legal career lined with a series of landmark rulings in the areas of civil rights and social justice. The February 14 luncheon, traditionally held at the federal courthouse in Detroit, will be staged this year in Washington, D.C. on the campus of Howard University School of Law.
The change was announced in a letter from Justin Hansford, executive director of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center at Howard University School of Law.
“As you know, every year for 32 years, Judge Keith would convene family and friends at his chambers for his annual Soul Food Luncheon,” Hansford wrote in his letter to those scheduled to be invited to the invitation-only event. “Not wanting to break from his time-honored tradition, the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center, located at Judge Keith’s alma mater, Howard University School of Law, along with several of his former law clerks, have partnered to continue this tradition in honor of Judge Keith and his legacy. It is our hope that this event will live up to the Judge’s high standard of excellence.”
The luncheon also will serve a dual purpose, according to Hansford, who was a law clerk to Judge Keith from 2009-10.
“It is also our distinct honor to announce that the law school will be renaming the moot court room in honor of Judge Keith,” Hansford said. “In the 150 years of the law school’s existence, the moot court room has never been named after an individual alum. However, Judge Keith embodied the ideals of Howard University to such a degree that he is deserving of this high honor.”
In keeping with its past, the event also recognizes “an outstanding African American as the recipient of the Soul and Spirit Humanitarian Award,” according to Hansford, who said that his year’s winner will be announced soon.
Past recipients have included the likes of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, former Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, NBA Hall of Fame great Joe Dumars, famed singer-songwriter Aretha Franklin, Emmy Award-winning anchor Carmen Harlan, and Denise Page Hood, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The 2019 recipient was William F. Pickard, a noted businessman and philanthropist.
One of the organizers of this year’s luncheon, Praveen Madhiraju, said “that we intend this to be a one-year hiatus from the event’s permanent presence in Detroit,” where it was “born and grew into one of the most highly-anticipated events of the year.”
Said Madhiraju, a Keith law clerk from 2001-02: “We are dedicated to maintaining the tradition in Detroit, but this year were admittedly a little slow to react to – and perhaps in denial about – our dear Judge Keith’s departure from this earthly world.
“The event in D.C. promises to honor Judge Keith, his life’s work, the City of Detroit, and the spirit of fellowship and community that the Soul Food Luncheon so truly embodies.”
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