The United States lost a civil rights icon on Sunday when Judge Damon Keith died at the age of 96.

A judicial giant who served on the bench for more than 50 years, Keith adamantly refused to tolerate injustice in any form. His landmark opinions defending the constitutional liberties of unpopular groups provoked ire and, at times, death threats against the judge.

But Keith never yielded, facing down opponents as powerful as the president of the United States and as violent as the Ku Klux Klan. He maintained his resolute belief in equality to the very end of his extraordinary career.

[slate.com]