Luther "Badman" Keith, photo courtesy of www.lutherkeithblues.com
If you don’t know the name Luther Keith, you should.
Keith was the first Black sportswriter at a Detroit daily newspaper.
He was the first Black statehouse reporter in Michigan. In 1982, he became the first Black assigning editor. And 10 years later, he was appointed assistant managing editor, making him the first Black masthead-level editor in the paper’s history.
All of those firsts took place during his 33 years at The Detroit News.
The native son of Detroit died peacefully in his sleep on March 5. He was 74.
The trailblazing journalist loved to tell stories of everyday people, and in doing so, he strived to ensure that the city and residents of his beloved Detroit were portrayed accurately and fairly, and placed on the front page. For Keith, diversity inside and outside the newsroom was paramount.
Midway through a successful reporting career, Keith stepped away from the newsroom for a few years to become the founding director of the Journalism Institute for Minorities (JIM), an academic scholarship program at Wayne State University that serves as a pipeline to diversify media organizations. More than 300 students have graduated from what is now known as the Journalism Institute for Media Diversity. It turns 40 this year.
Keith took every opportunity he could to recruit diverse journalists, such as JIM graduate Mekeisha Madden Toby.
“It was an interview and a conversation and a chance that led to my first newspaper internship,” she said, “and that internship, at The Detroit News, opened too many professional and personal doors to count.”
After a negative portrayal of the city aired on ABC’s “Primetime Live” in the early ’90s, Keith was inspired to create a tabloid publication called On Detroit. The weekly section in The Detroit News showcased the residents, neighborhoods, schools, churches and businesses often overlooked by large media outlets.
On Detroit was the prototype for what is known today as community-centered engagement journalism.
Detroit Free Press columnist Darren Nichols got his start as a reporter covering the education beat for On Detroit.
“There literally isn’t a day I don’t use a lesson from Luther Keith,” Nichols said. “He taught me to eliminate the words ‘I think’ in my copy. Luther would say, ‘We know he thinks it because he said it.’ It’s not only a lesson I use, I teach it to young reporters that I mentor. Luther was full of all of these small things that would make you a better reporter.
“With On Detroit, our goal was to get good enough stories that would (run on) 1A,” Nichols said.
Luther Keith changed the trajectory of my career. I was set on becoming one of the top female design editors in the country. However, Keith saw me in a role I had dreamed of but thought was unattainable: He appointed me editor of On Detroit, a role that provided valuable experience in editing and management while leading a team of five. The lessons I learned from him allowed me many years later to follow in his footsteps as assistant managing editor at The Detroit News.
Most importantly, Keith and his family became my family.
“Luther was the soul of The Detroit News when he worked here. He loved The News, but loved Detroit more, so he left to start an organization serving the city’s neighborhoods,” said Detroit News editorial page editor Nolan Finley in a story published on March 6. “He had a personality that drew people to him. If I had to describe him in one word, it would be joyous. He radiated a love for life, no matter what he was doing.”
Keith was a mentor to many, including retired photo editor Charlotte Massey.
“When I arrived at The Detroit News in 1998, he took me under his wing and put me up for Push the Edges, a community/journalism fellowship with Wayne State University, the Poynter Institute, and the Ford Foundation,” Massey said. “It was an amazing introduction to the city and some of its most interesting citizens.”
A multiple award-winner over the years, Keith was the youngest inductee in the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame in 1995.
Upon retirement in 2005, Keith was eager to do more for the city of Detroit. Ever the visionary, he created ARISE Detroit!, a nonprofit dedicated to equipping residents with the tools to tackle societal issues affecting their neighborhoods. Since its inception, the organization has sponsored “Neighborhoods Day,” an annual event the first Saturday in August for children, teens and adults to participate in service projects across the city.
Maynard alum Walter Middlebrook, a former assistant managing editor at The Detroit News, said Keith’s commitment to young people will be long remembered through his service as a trustee for the Rosa Parks Scholarship Foundation, which awards approximately 40 scholarships annually to graduating Michigan high school seniors.
Keith was part of the team at The Detroit News that created the foundation. The board voted to name a scholarship in his memory.
“(Luther) was considered the soul of the board and always jumped at the opportunity to help pick the awardees,” said Middlebrook, a member of the foundation board.
When Keith wasn’t serving the city of Detroit by day, his alter ego, “Badman,” was entertaining blues fans at night. The self-taught guitarist/singer/songwriter and his band performed regularly at clubs across the city. They even performed on Memphis’s famed Beale Street and at international blues festivals.
Winner of the Detroit Music Awards’ Outstanding Blues Songwriter, Keith released five albums over the past 26 years. One of his songs, “Cooking in the Kitchen,” was the jingle for the restaurant Captain D’s advertising campaign.
Keith was a dedicated member of Detroit NABJ and a former first vice president. President Vincent McCraw described him as the chapter’s North Star, known for his wisdom and humor, often showcased during celebrity roasts. He lent a hand whenever he could, always willing to support the chapter and its members.
“Luther’s unassuming warmth and genuineness was his calling card,” McCraw said. “For 16 years he never hesitated to perform at our Show the Love benefit to raise funds to support Metro Detroit journalists facing financial hardships. For decades, he made a difference in the lives of many of our members.”
Keith is survived by his wife of 36 years, Jacqueline Hall Keith; daughter, Erin Yvonne Hall Keith; loving siblings and extended family members; a grateful community; and countless journalists, who, like me, entered the Detroit market through doors he opened for us to walk through.
Detroit journalists stand tall on Luther Keith’s shoulders and are committed to honoring his legacy because a person’s spirit lives on as long as they are remembered. We will ensure his name endures for generations to come.
Felecia D. Henderson is Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Maynard Institute.