D. Augustus Straker

He started to learn the tailor's trade, but did not enjoy it and withdrew, instead taking instruction in French and Latin under Rev.

Benjamin B. Smith, Episcopal Bishop of the Protestant Church of America, asked Rawle if there were any black people who would agree to emigrate to the United States to teach former slaves, and Straker volunteered.

Straker began teaching in Louisville, Kentucky in schools set up by the Episcopal Church and the Freedmen's Bureau.

In 1870, Straker was induced to enroll in Howard University Law School by John M. Langston, and he graduated in June 1871.

[1] In 1871 he was appointed clerk in the auditor's office of the United States Treasury Department in Washington, DC where he remained until 1875.

In that election, incumbent Republican governor Daniel Henry Chamberlain and Democratic candidate Wade Hampton III both claimed victory and established separate governments.

Elliot was an agent of the Treasury Department and Straker was appointed special Inspector of Customs in Elliott's office.

[1] Straker also took part in numerous educational conventions and played an important role in the colored department of the 1884 World Cotton Centennial in New Orleans.

In 1890, in the case Ferguson v. Gies, Straker argued that the doctrine of "separate but equal" was unconstitutional according to Michigan law.