B.C. Franklin
1879–1957
Greenwood lawyer who defeated the ordinance meant to stop rebuilding — from a tent.
📖Biography
Buck Colbert Franklin was born in 1879 in Indian Territory, the son of a formerly enslaved man. A lawyer, he moved to Tulsa in February 1921 seeking opportunity in Greenwood. Months later the massacre destroyed his office and library. He reopened in a tent and led the legal fight that struck down Tulsa's fire ordinance, which had been designed to make rebuilding Greenwood unaffordable. He later wrote a memoir, 'My Life and an Era,' and was the father of historian John Hope Franklin.
Key Achievements
Reopened his law practice in a tent weeks after the massacre
Won the court fight against Tulsa's anti-rebuilding fire ordinance
Helped Greenwood residents rebuild on their own land
Father of renowned historian John Hope Franklin
Life Timeline
Born in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma)
Moved to Tulsa; lost his office in the massacre months later
Defeated the fire ordinance blocking Greenwood's rebuilding
Passed away in Tulsa
Legacy & Impact
Franklin's legal victory made Greenwood's rebuilding possible — without it, the district might have been erased permanently.