Edward Michael Keating Sr. (1925–2003), was an American newspaper publisher, journalist, author, lawyer, politician, and businessman. He was the founder and publisher of '' Ramparts'', a magazine in print 1962 to 1975, that had started as a Catholic literary magazine and evolved into a voice for the civil rights movement, the

anti-war movement An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during con ...

, and support of the

New Left The New Left was a broad political movement that emerged from the counterculture of the 1960s and continued through the 1970s. It consisted of activists in the Western world who, in reaction to the era's liberal establishment, campaigned for freer ...

movement.

Early life

Edward Michael Keating, Sr. was born on April 17, 1925, in New Jersey. In 1940, when he was a teenager, the family moved to

Menlo Park Menlo Park may refer to: Places *Menlo Park, New Jersey, a section of Edison, New Jersey, location of Thomas Edison's laboratories **Menlo Park Mall, a shopping mall in Edison **Menlo Park Terrace, New Jersey, a section of nearby Woodbridge Townsh ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Keating served in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. He attended

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (SLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% i ...

, graduating in 1950. He married Helen English, who also attended Stanford. He was raised as a Protestant and converted to Roman Catholicism in 1954.

Career

After college he worked for 4 years as a commercial real estate lawyer, followed by teaching English at the

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

for one year. In 1962, he found and published ''Ramparts,'' a Catholic quarterly literary magazine based in Menlo Park. He personally financed the quarterly publication, and the magazine reached circulation of 400,000. ''Ramparts'' printed articles about the murders of three civil rights workers in Mississippi; and in 1967 they exposed the Central Intelligence Agency’s secret financing of the

National Student Association The United States National Student Association (known as the National Student Association or NSA) was a confederation of college and university student governments in the United States that was in operation from 1947 to 1978. NSA held annual nati ...

. Writers in ''Ramparts'' included

Susan Sontag Susan Lee Sontag (; January 16, 1933 – December 28, 2004) was an American writer, critic, and public intellectual. She mostly wrote essays, but also published novels; she published her first major work, the essay "Notes on "Camp", Notes on 'Ca ...

Seymour Hersh Seymour Myron Hersh (born April 8, 1937) is an American investigative journalist and political writer. He gained recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War, for which he received the 1970 Pulitzer ...

Robert Scheer Robert Scheer (born April 4, 1936) is an American left-wing journalist who has written for '' Ramparts'', the ''Los Angeles Times'', ''Playboy'', '' Hustler Magazine'', ''Truthdig'', ''ScheerPost'' and other publications as well as having written ...

Eldridge Cleaver Leroy Eldridge Cleaver (August 31, 1935 – May 1, 1998) was an American writer and political activist who became an early leader of the Black Panther Party. In 1968, Cleaver wrote '' Soul on Ice'', a collection of essays that, at the time of i ...

, and

John Howard Griffin John Howard Griffin (June 16, 1920 – September 9, 1980) was an American journalist and author from Texas who wrote about and championed racial equality. He is best known for his 1959 project to temporarily pass as a black man and journey throu ...

. In 1965, Keating left the Catholic church and became

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...

, and in the same year wrote the book ''The Scandal of Silence'' (1965) about the Catholic Church during World War II. On December 12, 1966, Keating helped

get paroled from

Folsom State Prison Folsom California State Prison is a California State Prison in Folsom, California, United States, approximately northeast of the state capital of Sacramento. It is one of 34 adult institutions operated by the California Department of Correcti ...

and get hired as a staff writer at ''Ramparts''. Keating was forced to leave ''Raparts'' in 1967, and ran for

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

for the 11th Congressional District seat in San Mateo. He lost the election to

Pete McCloskey Paul Norton "Pete" McCloskey Jr. (September 29, 1927 – May 8, 2024) was an American politician who represented San Mateo County, California, as a Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1967 to 1983. Born in Loma Linda, Californi ...

. Keating wrote a few books, short stories, and novellas after his Congressional run. He served on the legal council for

Huey Newton Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989) was an African American revolutionary and political activist who co-founded the Black Panther Party in 1966. He ran the party as its first leader and crafted its ten-point manifesto with ...

of the Black Panthers Party. In 1971, Keating published the book ''Free Huey!.'' In March 2003, he donated his 1960s Black Panther documents to the Black Panthers Papers at Stanford University.

Death

Keating died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

on April 2, 2003, at

Stanford Hospital Stanford University Medical Center is a teaching hospital which includes Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health. It serves as a private hospital for the Stanford University School of Medicine. In 2022–23, it was ranked by the U ...

in Stanford, California. At the time of his death he was living in Mountain View,

. He was survived by 6 children.

Publications

* * *

References

External links

* Video
Edward M. Keating on the Huey Newton Trial
(1968), KTVU News, from the

Bay Area Television Archive The Bay Area Television Archive (BATA) is a regional moving image archive. It preserves and digitally restores 16mm newsfilm, documentaries and other shows produced by TV stations in Northern California (1948–2005), local Emmy Award-winning pr ...

, San Francisco State University * Archive
Merton's Correspondence with: Keating, Edward Michael
(1963–1967), from The Thomas Merton Center at

Bellarmine University Bellarmine University ( ; BU) is a private university, private Catholic university in Louisville, Kentucky, UNited States. It opened on October 3, 1950, as Bellarmine College, established by Archbishop John A. Floersh of the Archdiocese of Louis ...