Keith was born and grew up in Detroit, Michigan, where he graduated from Northwestern High School in 1939. Keith then moved on to West Virginia State College where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1943. He served in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946. He then attended Howard University School of Law where he received a Bachelor of Laws in 1949, and Wayne State University Law School where he received a Master of Laws in 1956. He was in the private practice of law in Detroit from 1950 to 1967. He was an attorney in the Office of the Friend of the Court in Detroit from 1951 to 1955. In 1964 Keith was elected co-chair of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission with John Feikens and was a key player in the tumultuous times following the Detroit race riots.