William T. Francis was a very successful and prominent lawyer, who sought political office on several occasions.
He became Minnesota's first African-American diplomat when he was appointed US Minister/Consul General to Liberia in 1927.

In Liberia, he undertook a nine-month investigation into government and high official involvement in slavery and forced labor.
W.T. Francis' report was able to show that the country's president, Charles D.B. King, had profited from the selling of young Liberians into forced labor for Spanish plantations on Bioko Island.

The pressure from the Francis report led to a League of Nations investigation, which ultimately resulted in the president and vice president of Liberia resigning.
However, he would not live to see this outcome.
After a month of intense suffering from yellow fever, which was initially diagnosed as malaria, W.T. Thomas died in Monrovia.
A funeral was held at the couple's church, St. Paul's Pilgrim Baptist Church on August 11, 1929.
A second funeral service and Masonic burial followed in Nashville.
William T. Francis was a very successful and prominent lawyer, who sought political office on several occasions. He became Minnesota's first African-American diplomat when he was appointed US Minister/Consul General to Liberia in 1927.
In Liberia, he undertook a nine-month investigation into government and high official involvement in slavery and forced labor. W.T. Francis' report was able to show that the country's president, Charles D.B. King, had profited from the selling of young Liberians into forced labor for Spanish plantations on Bioko Island.
The pressure from the Francis report led to a League of Nations investigation, which ultimately resulted in the president and vice president of Liberia resigning. However, he would not live to see this outcome. After a month of intense suffering from yellow fever, which was initially diagnosed as malaria, W.T. Thomas died in Monrovia. A funeral was held at the couple's church, St. Paul's Pilgrim Baptist Church on August 11, 1929. A second funeral service and Masonic burial followed in Nashville.
Nellie Griswold Francis