Buck Colbert Franklin (May 6, 1879 – September 24, 1960) was an African American lawyer best known for defending survivors of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre.

[2] Millie and David were married in 1856 and moved from Mississippi to a 300-acre farm near Homer in the Indian Territory, on communal land of the Chickasaw Nation.

[2] Franklin's childhood was shaped by his chores on the ranch, and by age eleven he could ride horses, hunt deer, and cook for the family.

[2] In 1890 his father brought him along on a business trip to Guthrie, where they met territorial governor George Washington Steele and young Franklin saw prominent African American lawyers and businessmen at work.

[2] Mollie and Buck both pursued their studies while managing a large homestead, but when an illness killed the ranch's hogs, they lost nearly all their wealth and got jobs as teachers.

[2] Franklin moved to Tulsa in early 1921, leaving his wife and youngest children behind in Rentiesville until he could save a nest egg of money.

[5] Franklin, Spears, and Chappelle set up a makeshift tent as their office to provide legal support to the victims of the violence.

[2] After he suffered a stroke in 1956 which paralyzed the right side of his body, he endeavored to finish his autobiography with the help of his son John Hope.

[6] The law school also hosts The Buck Colbert Franklin Memorial Civil Rights Lecture every year.