Letter from Lani Guinier to Hon. Damon Keith

Greenberg v. Veteran Reply Affidavit preview

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Impact area
- Economic Justice
Topic
- Economic Justice
Matter
- Greenberg v. Veteran
Case
- Greenberg v. Veteran
U.S. state
- New York
Collection
- Brief Collection
Taxonomy
Identifier
- 5cbe8e70-b49a-ee11-be36-6045bdeb8873

Cite this item

Legal Department General, Lani Guinier Correspondence. Letter from Lani Guinier to Hon. Damon Keith, 1982. 78435c17-e492-ee11-be37-6045bdeb8873. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/64794b9b-fae7-4272-8786-60b138d7159e/letter-from-lani-guinier-to-hon-damon-keith. Accessed August 19, 2025.

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'efense
NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND
10 Columbus Circle, New York,

EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC.
N.Y. i0019 . (212) 586-8397

May 18, L982

Honorable Damon J. Keith
Circuit Judge
United States Courthouse
Detroit, Michigan 48226

Dear Judge Keith:

Thank you for your note and copi-es of the Stotts opinions.
f am circufating them with pleasu:"e around tne oFfice.

I am delighted to see that the Michigan Court of Appeals
has such a distinguished new member. I read the editorial in
the Chronicle with great interest. It is true that Governor
Milliken deserves alot of credit for appointing Judge WahIs;
I am glad to see there are some Republican whose best friends
are not B. Sam Hart or Will-iam BeII!

There is yet another dimension to the appointment of men
such as Mike Wahls, a dimension that the Chronicle notes but
doesn't dwell on. I think this dimension deserves emphasis
because it sets Detroit, and Michigan apart from the rest of
the country, especialJ-y in these times of returning to
"separate but equal." f refer to the Detroit connection, the
network of blacks whose sel-f-confidence, loyalty, and sense
of community have helped not just one or two blacks "make it"
but have extended the outstretched arm to many, many brothers
and sisters. Lowell Johnston, Judge Taylor's brother, and
I were extolling the virtues of Detroi-t to someone in the
office the other day. We both felt very strongly that the
black leadership in Detroit is an extremely positive role
model for newer, less establ-ished black communities through-
out the country.

I know that my decision to come bo Detroit to c1erk for
y()u w.rsi onc oI l-]rc vcry bcst. <lr:c j.s j.ons f 'vc (-'vcr rnar.le. Tlre
clerkslrip was a t-rcrncndous cxpcricncc, .rnd t-lie cxposure I
had to the black community in Detroit became a most stabil-l-z-
ing and refreshing influence, having previously spent seven

Oott!riltulirttt.s are lctlu<:tiblr: lor U.5. ittt'otrte /o.t lrttrpo.st's

The NMCP LEGAL DEFENSE & EoUCAIIoNAL FUNo is not part of the National Association for the Advancement ol Colored Pe_ople although it
was lounded by it and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDt has had lor over 20 years a separate Board, program, staff, oflice and budget.

Honorable Damon J. Keith
May 18, 1982
Page 2

years as one of the very few blacks in the all-white neurotic
environment of the over achieving, competitive, ambltlous and
cynical Ivy League. By. contrast, the black community in
Detroit made me feel comfortable and welcome. I had the feel-
ing, though I had never been there before and knew only one
person when I arrived (Eric), that I had finally come home.

My best regards to Judge Wahl. Right onl

Lani

18 72
18 73

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Greenberg v. Veteran Reply Affidavit

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