John B. Stradford

Son of a man born into slavery in Kentucky, J.B. Stradford built the 54-room Stradford Hotel — at the time the largest Black-owned hotel in the country, valued at $75,000. He was a vocal advocate for Greenwood residents' rights and on May 31, 1921, helped lead the armed defense at the courthouse. After the massacre Stradford was falsely indicted; he fled to Chicago to avoid being lynched, where he practiced law. The state of Oklahoma posthumously exonerated him in 1996.