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Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder | name=Billy P. "Bill" Keith | office= Louisiana State Senator for<br> District 39 (Caddo Parish)]] | party=Democrat ..."
{{Infobox officeholder
| name=Billy P. "Bill" Keith
| office= [[Louisiana]] State Senator for<br> District 39 (Caddo Parish)]]
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| term_start=1980
| term_end=1984
| preceded=[[Don W. Williamson]]
| succeeded=Gregory Tarver
| birth_date=August 19, 1934
| birth_place=Tahlequah, [[Oklahoma]]
| residence=[[Longview, Texas|Longview]], Gregg County, [[Texas]], [[United States|USA]]
| religion=[[Southern Baptist]]
| occupation=[[Author]]; [[Journalist]]
| spouse= (1) Mona Pigg Keith (divorced)<br>(2) Frances Lowayne Sloan Keith (divorced)<br>(3) Vivian Marie Mendez Keith
| children= Tara Keith Rose, Kimberly Keith Westfall, Paul Richard Keith, Lindsay Keith LeBell, Miguel Mendez, Marisa Mendez Murphy
| alma_mater=[[Wheaton College]]<br />
[[Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary]]
| footnotes=Keith's career in theLouisiana legislature ended after a single term, as his 39th District became majority [[African American]], and voters replaced Keith with a black [[funeral home]] owner and Shreveport City Council member, Gregory Tarver, who still holds the Senate seat..
}}
'''Billy P. Keith''', known as '''Bill Keith''' (born August 19, 1934), currently resides in [[Longview, Texas|Longview]], [[Texas]] with his wife, Vivian. A writer of [[fiction]] and [[nonfiction]] , he served from 1980 to 1984 as a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] member of the Louisiana State Senate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legis.state.la.us/members/s1880-2012.pdf|title=Membership in the Louisiana State Senate, 1880-2012|publisher=legis.state.la.us|accessdate=November 23, 2009}}</ref> As a legislator, he was particularly known for his promotion of a state law requiring balanced treatment in the instruction of [[creation science]] and [[evolution]] in public schools.
A native of Tahlequah in Cherokee County in northeastern [[Oklahoma]], Keith graduated from [[Wheaton College]], a private American four-year Christian liberal arts college in [[Illinois]], with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism. He received a [[Master of Divinity]] degree from [[Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary]] in [[Fort Worth]], Texas. While at SWBTS, he worked in the public relations office with [[Bill Moyers]], a [[liberal]] who later was the [[press secretary]] to [[U.S. President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. After the publication of Keith's 2009 book, Moyers sent him a note of goodwill.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://billkeithbooks.com/wordsmith/|title=A Personal Note from Bill Moyers|date= October 27, 2009|publisher=billkeithbooks.com|accessdate=November 25, 2009}}</ref>
==Career==
A long-time investigative [[journalist]], Keith traveled to thirty-five countries in the pursuit of his writings. His work as a reporter for ''The Shreveport Times'' in [[Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]], during the late 1970s. This position provided the experience and material for his 2009 book, ''The Commissioner: A True Story of Deceit, Dishonor, and Death,''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amazon.com/Commissioner-Story-Deceit-Dishonor-Death/dp/1589806557|title=The Commissioner: A True Story of Deceit, Dishonor, and Death|publisher=amazon.com|accessdate=November 25, 2009}}</ref> a study of Shreveport Public Safety Commissioner George Wendell D'Artois, Jr. (1925–1977), who held office from 1962 to 1976 under the city commission form of government, which was disbanded in 1978. Keith also examines the [[assassination]] in 1976 of the Shreveport advertising executive Jim Leslie. D'Artois was implicated in the still unresolved Leslie case but died before he could stand trial.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=NvpN1t9TMrgC&pg=PA81&lpg=PA81&dq=George+Wendell+D'Artois&source=bl&ots=FLoGsv9uIL&sig=M4vFHkw4ijLolZvKDlHRFDjmACg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=w0-XU5b6FuqH8AHr-YCoCQ&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=George%20Wendell%20D'Artois&f=false|author=Bill Keith|title= The Commissioner: A True Story of Deceit, Dishonor, and Death|publisher=Pelican Publishing Company]]|location=Gretna, [[Louisiana]]|year=2009|isbn=9781-58980-655-9|accessdate=June 10, 2014}}</ref>
While in Shreveport, Keith served as city editor of the defunct ''[[Shreveport Journal]],'' last owned by [[Charles T. Beaird]]. ''The Journal'' was the afternoon rival [[newspaper]] to the existing ''The Shreveport Times'', a morning publication.<ref name=pelican>{{cite web|url=http://pelicanpub.com/products.asp?cat=313|title=Bill Keith|publisher=pelicanpub.com|accessdate=November 23, 2009}}</ref>At ''The Journal'' Keith joined reporter Craig Flournoy in a sensational investigation of the office of Webster Parish]] [[Sheriff]] Oscar Henry "O.H." Haynes, Jr. (1920-1996), and the police department in Springhill for corrupt practices. The reporters alleged that the two departments had covered up cases of [[prostitution]], ticket-fixing, stolen bond money, and [[narcotics]] violations. Investigations by chief criminal sheriff's deputy Thomas Cameron Bloxom, Jr. (1930-2014), and Mayor M. A. Gleason of Springhill uncovered no evidence of wrongdoing. Haynes rose from his hospital bed in Shreveport, where he was undergoing treatment for bronchitis, to deny all allegations. It was noted that ''The Shreveport Times'' was, meanwhile, preparing a story on the lower crime rate in Webster Parish compared to other nearby locations.<ref>"Sheriff Haynes answers charges of corruption", ''Minden Press-Herald,'' October 6, 1977, pp. 1, 8A.</ref> The investigations ultimately cleared Haynes. State Attorney General [[William J. Guste]] returned no [[indictment]] in the case.<ref>"Guste returns no indictment in Springhill case," ''Minden Press-Herald,'' October 25, 1977, p. 1.</ref>
Keith was a war correspondent in the [[Vietnam War]] and undertook freelance assignments in [[West Berlin]], [[Tokyo]], and the [[Philippines]]. He published biographies, medical and inspirational works, and numerous [[magazine]] articles.<ref name=pelican/> The Military Chaplains Association in Fort Worth named Keith a lifetime member in honor of his book, ''Days of Anguish, Days of Hope,'' the story of a [[U.S. Army]] chaplain who spent forty-two months in [[Japan]]ese prisoner of war camps during [[World War II]]. Copies of the book have been given to all military chaplains in the nation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://billkeithbooks.com/wordsmith/|title=Taken by Surprise|date=October 8, 2009|publisher=billkeithbooks.com|accessdate=November 25, 2009}}</ref>
==Creation science debate==
In 1979, while he resided in Mooringsport outside Shreveport, Keith won the District 39 Senate seat vacated by [[Don W. Williamson]] of Vivian, who did seek a third Senate term and instead ran unsuccessfully for Louisiana insurance commissioner, having been narrowly defeated by the incumbent Sherman Albert Bernard, Sr. (1925-2012). As a state senator, Keith is primarily remembered for having introduced legislation, which acquired national attention, that would have given equal emphasis in public school science instruction to creation science and evolution.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://billkeithbooks.com/wordsmith/|title=Visit to Shreve Memorial Library|date=October 14, 2009|publisher=billkeithbooks.com|accessdate=November 25, 2009}}</ref><ref name=aguillard/> The measure, signed by [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[Governor]] [[David C. Treen]], was entitled the Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science Act. Keith's act required that scientific evidence for creation-science, the view of abrupt appearance of organisms in the fossil records, whenever related material on evolution was presented in classes. A panel of seven creation-scientists, appointed by the governor, would advise local school districts on the appropriate curriculum. The act did not specifically require or allow instruction in any religious doctrine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grisda.org/origins/12038.htm|title=News and Comments|publisher=grisda.org|accessdate=November 25, 2009}}</ref>
Keith's law was subsequently overturned by the [[United States Supreme Court]] in the 1987 decision ''[[Edwards v. Aguillard]]'' because the court held that the law was specifically intended to advance a particular religion.<ref>Justice William Brennan in the majority opinion said, ''As in <u>Stone and Abington</u>, we need not be blind in this case to the legislature's preeminent religious purpose in enacting this statute.'' opinion, 482 U.S. 578, page 588; and ''Here, it is clear that religious belief is the Balanced Treatment Act's "reason for existence."'' opinion, 482 U.S. 578, page 603.</ref> Keith recalled that his interest in the matter developed in 1978, when his then 13-year-old son came home from school to report that a teacher had ridiculed the youngster's belief in [[God]] as the creator of human life.<ref name=aguillard>{{cite web|url=
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19870620&id=tbgMAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0GADAAAAIBAJ&pg=4418,4944792|title=Ridicule sparked creationism law|publisher=''St. Petersburg Times'' |date=June 20, 1987|accessdate=November 25, 2009}}</ref>
Upon hearing of the Supreme Court decision, Keith, who was then living in Jefferson, Texas, where he operated a [[Christian]] book publishing firm, said that he was "shocked and disappointed. What this means is that the vast majority of American school children will continue to be [[indoctrination|indoctrinated]] in evolutionism and will be denied the right and freedom to hear the evidence that points to creationism."<ref name=aguillard/> Donald Aguillard, a plaintiff in the case who was then an assistant principal at Acadiana High School in Scott, near [[Lafayette]], said that he was pleased with the overturning of Keith's law: "We just don't have the money now to be spending on bad science. . . . I'm thrilled that after six years we finally have a decision. The law would have cost the state monies that we do not have right now."<ref name=nyt>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/20/us/elation-relief-and-sadness-in-louisiana-as-fight-ends.html|author=Frances Frank Marcus|title=Elation, Relief and Sadness In Louisiana as Fight Ends|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|accessdate=November 25, 2009 | date=June 20, 1987}}</ref>
In despair, Keith replied, "Evolution is no more than a fairy tale about a frog that turns into a prince, but this is what we are teaching our schoolchildren today."<ref name=nyt/>
Then Louisiana Attorney General William Guste, who had judicially defended Keith's law, said that the high court had "unshackled teachers and enabled them to teach all scientific evidence with regard to the origin of human life, plant life, animal life and the universe."<ref name=nyt/> However, Guste said that the law was not "patently unconstitutional, and our position was agreed with by seven of fifteen judges of the United States Court of Appeals and by two of the judges of the United States Supreme Court."<ref name=nyt/>
In 1983, Keith was defeated for a second term for the District 39 state Senate seat in Caddo Parish by the [[African American]] Democrat Gregory Williams Tarver, Sr., the owner of J.S. Williams Funeral Home and insurance companies. Tarver received 9,264 votes (51.4 percent) to Keith's 8,769 (48.6 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 19, 1983.</ref> After the 1980 census, the 39th became majority black and has not since elected a white senator. Keith soon left Louisiana and lived thereafter in east Texas. For several years, he published a conservative weekly newspaper in Marshall, Texas.
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Bill}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[CategoryOklahoma]]
[[Category:Texas]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:American Authors]]
[[Category:Journalists]]
[[Category:Baptists]]
| name=Billy P. "Bill" Keith
| office= [[Louisiana]] State Senator for<br> District 39 (Caddo Parish)]]
| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
| term_start=1980
| term_end=1984
| preceded=[[Don W. Williamson]]
| succeeded=Gregory Tarver
| birth_date=August 19, 1934
| birth_place=Tahlequah, [[Oklahoma]]
| residence=[[Longview, Texas|Longview]], Gregg County, [[Texas]], [[United States|USA]]
| religion=[[Southern Baptist]]
| occupation=[[Author]]; [[Journalist]]
| spouse= (1) Mona Pigg Keith (divorced)<br>(2) Frances Lowayne Sloan Keith (divorced)<br>(3) Vivian Marie Mendez Keith
| children= Tara Keith Rose, Kimberly Keith Westfall, Paul Richard Keith, Lindsay Keith LeBell, Miguel Mendez, Marisa Mendez Murphy
| alma_mater=[[Wheaton College]]<br />
[[Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary]]
| footnotes=Keith's career in theLouisiana legislature ended after a single term, as his 39th District became majority [[African American]], and voters replaced Keith with a black [[funeral home]] owner and Shreveport City Council member, Gregory Tarver, who still holds the Senate seat..
}}
'''Billy P. Keith''', known as '''Bill Keith''' (born August 19, 1934), currently resides in [[Longview, Texas|Longview]], [[Texas]] with his wife, Vivian. A writer of [[fiction]] and [[nonfiction]] , he served from 1980 to 1984 as a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] member of the Louisiana State Senate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legis.state.la.us/members/s1880-2012.pdf|title=Membership in the Louisiana State Senate, 1880-2012|publisher=legis.state.la.us|accessdate=November 23, 2009}}</ref> As a legislator, he was particularly known for his promotion of a state law requiring balanced treatment in the instruction of [[creation science]] and [[evolution]] in public schools.
A native of Tahlequah in Cherokee County in northeastern [[Oklahoma]], Keith graduated from [[Wheaton College]], a private American four-year Christian liberal arts college in [[Illinois]], with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism. He received a [[Master of Divinity]] degree from [[Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary]] in [[Fort Worth]], Texas. While at SWBTS, he worked in the public relations office with [[Bill Moyers]], a [[liberal]] who later was the [[press secretary]] to [[U.S. President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. After the publication of Keith's 2009 book, Moyers sent him a note of goodwill.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://billkeithbooks.com/wordsmith/|title=A Personal Note from Bill Moyers|date= October 27, 2009|publisher=billkeithbooks.com|accessdate=November 25, 2009}}</ref>
==Career==
A long-time investigative [[journalist]], Keith traveled to thirty-five countries in the pursuit of his writings. His work as a reporter for ''The Shreveport Times'' in [[Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]], during the late 1970s. This position provided the experience and material for his 2009 book, ''The Commissioner: A True Story of Deceit, Dishonor, and Death,''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amazon.com/Commissioner-Story-Deceit-Dishonor-Death/dp/1589806557|title=The Commissioner: A True Story of Deceit, Dishonor, and Death|publisher=amazon.com|accessdate=November 25, 2009}}</ref> a study of Shreveport Public Safety Commissioner George Wendell D'Artois, Jr. (1925–1977), who held office from 1962 to 1976 under the city commission form of government, which was disbanded in 1978. Keith also examines the [[assassination]] in 1976 of the Shreveport advertising executive Jim Leslie. D'Artois was implicated in the still unresolved Leslie case but died before he could stand trial.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=NvpN1t9TMrgC&pg=PA81&lpg=PA81&dq=George+Wendell+D'Artois&source=bl&ots=FLoGsv9uIL&sig=M4vFHkw4ijLolZvKDlHRFDjmACg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=w0-XU5b6FuqH8AHr-YCoCQ&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=George%20Wendell%20D'Artois&f=false|author=Bill Keith|title= The Commissioner: A True Story of Deceit, Dishonor, and Death|publisher=Pelican Publishing Company]]|location=Gretna, [[Louisiana]]|year=2009|isbn=9781-58980-655-9|accessdate=June 10, 2014}}</ref>
While in Shreveport, Keith served as city editor of the defunct ''[[Shreveport Journal]],'' last owned by [[Charles T. Beaird]]. ''The Journal'' was the afternoon rival [[newspaper]] to the existing ''The Shreveport Times'', a morning publication.<ref name=pelican>{{cite web|url=http://pelicanpub.com/products.asp?cat=313|title=Bill Keith|publisher=pelicanpub.com|accessdate=November 23, 2009}}</ref>At ''The Journal'' Keith joined reporter Craig Flournoy in a sensational investigation of the office of Webster Parish]] [[Sheriff]] Oscar Henry "O.H." Haynes, Jr. (1920-1996), and the police department in Springhill for corrupt practices. The reporters alleged that the two departments had covered up cases of [[prostitution]], ticket-fixing, stolen bond money, and [[narcotics]] violations. Investigations by chief criminal sheriff's deputy Thomas Cameron Bloxom, Jr. (1930-2014), and Mayor M. A. Gleason of Springhill uncovered no evidence of wrongdoing. Haynes rose from his hospital bed in Shreveport, where he was undergoing treatment for bronchitis, to deny all allegations. It was noted that ''The Shreveport Times'' was, meanwhile, preparing a story on the lower crime rate in Webster Parish compared to other nearby locations.<ref>"Sheriff Haynes answers charges of corruption", ''Minden Press-Herald,'' October 6, 1977, pp. 1, 8A.</ref> The investigations ultimately cleared Haynes. State Attorney General [[William J. Guste]] returned no [[indictment]] in the case.<ref>"Guste returns no indictment in Springhill case," ''Minden Press-Herald,'' October 25, 1977, p. 1.</ref>
Keith was a war correspondent in the [[Vietnam War]] and undertook freelance assignments in [[West Berlin]], [[Tokyo]], and the [[Philippines]]. He published biographies, medical and inspirational works, and numerous [[magazine]] articles.<ref name=pelican/> The Military Chaplains Association in Fort Worth named Keith a lifetime member in honor of his book, ''Days of Anguish, Days of Hope,'' the story of a [[U.S. Army]] chaplain who spent forty-two months in [[Japan]]ese prisoner of war camps during [[World War II]]. Copies of the book have been given to all military chaplains in the nation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://billkeithbooks.com/wordsmith/|title=Taken by Surprise|date=October 8, 2009|publisher=billkeithbooks.com|accessdate=November 25, 2009}}</ref>
==Creation science debate==
In 1979, while he resided in Mooringsport outside Shreveport, Keith won the District 39 Senate seat vacated by [[Don W. Williamson]] of Vivian, who did seek a third Senate term and instead ran unsuccessfully for Louisiana insurance commissioner, having been narrowly defeated by the incumbent Sherman Albert Bernard, Sr. (1925-2012). As a state senator, Keith is primarily remembered for having introduced legislation, which acquired national attention, that would have given equal emphasis in public school science instruction to creation science and evolution.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://billkeithbooks.com/wordsmith/|title=Visit to Shreve Memorial Library|date=October 14, 2009|publisher=billkeithbooks.com|accessdate=November 25, 2009}}</ref><ref name=aguillard/> The measure, signed by [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[Governor]] [[David C. Treen]], was entitled the Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science Act. Keith's act required that scientific evidence for creation-science, the view of abrupt appearance of organisms in the fossil records, whenever related material on evolution was presented in classes. A panel of seven creation-scientists, appointed by the governor, would advise local school districts on the appropriate curriculum. The act did not specifically require or allow instruction in any religious doctrine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grisda.org/origins/12038.htm|title=News and Comments|publisher=grisda.org|accessdate=November 25, 2009}}</ref>
Keith's law was subsequently overturned by the [[United States Supreme Court]] in the 1987 decision ''[[Edwards v. Aguillard]]'' because the court held that the law was specifically intended to advance a particular religion.<ref>Justice William Brennan in the majority opinion said, ''As in <u>Stone and Abington</u>, we need not be blind in this case to the legislature's preeminent religious purpose in enacting this statute.'' opinion, 482 U.S. 578, page 588; and ''Here, it is clear that religious belief is the Balanced Treatment Act's "reason for existence."'' opinion, 482 U.S. 578, page 603.</ref> Keith recalled that his interest in the matter developed in 1978, when his then 13-year-old son came home from school to report that a teacher had ridiculed the youngster's belief in [[God]] as the creator of human life.<ref name=aguillard>{{cite web|url=
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19870620&id=tbgMAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0GADAAAAIBAJ&pg=4418,4944792|title=Ridicule sparked creationism law|publisher=''St. Petersburg Times'' |date=June 20, 1987|accessdate=November 25, 2009}}</ref>
Upon hearing of the Supreme Court decision, Keith, who was then living in Jefferson, Texas, where he operated a [[Christian]] book publishing firm, said that he was "shocked and disappointed. What this means is that the vast majority of American school children will continue to be [[indoctrination|indoctrinated]] in evolutionism and will be denied the right and freedom to hear the evidence that points to creationism."<ref name=aguillard/> Donald Aguillard, a plaintiff in the case who was then an assistant principal at Acadiana High School in Scott, near [[Lafayette]], said that he was pleased with the overturning of Keith's law: "We just don't have the money now to be spending on bad science. . . . I'm thrilled that after six years we finally have a decision. The law would have cost the state monies that we do not have right now."<ref name=nyt>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/20/us/elation-relief-and-sadness-in-louisiana-as-fight-ends.html|author=Frances Frank Marcus|title=Elation, Relief and Sadness In Louisiana as Fight Ends|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|accessdate=November 25, 2009 | date=June 20, 1987}}</ref>
In despair, Keith replied, "Evolution is no more than a fairy tale about a frog that turns into a prince, but this is what we are teaching our schoolchildren today."<ref name=nyt/>
Then Louisiana Attorney General William Guste, who had judicially defended Keith's law, said that the high court had "unshackled teachers and enabled them to teach all scientific evidence with regard to the origin of human life, plant life, animal life and the universe."<ref name=nyt/> However, Guste said that the law was not "patently unconstitutional, and our position was agreed with by seven of fifteen judges of the United States Court of Appeals and by two of the judges of the United States Supreme Court."<ref name=nyt/>
In 1983, Keith was defeated for a second term for the District 39 state Senate seat in Caddo Parish by the [[African American]] Democrat Gregory Williams Tarver, Sr., the owner of J.S. Williams Funeral Home and insurance companies. Tarver received 9,264 votes (51.4 percent) to Keith's 8,769 (48.6 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 19, 1983.</ref> After the 1980 census, the 39th became majority black and has not since elected a white senator. Keith soon left Louisiana and lived thereafter in east Texas. For several years, he published a conservative weekly newspaper in Marshall, Texas.
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keith, Bill}}
[[Category:Louisiana People]]
[[CategoryOklahoma]]
[[Category:Texas]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:Conservatives]]
[[Category:American Authors]]
[[Category:Journalists]]
[[Category:Baptists]]