US | civil rights Tree Honoring Black Victims of US Massacre Is Cut Down Officials investigating who chopped down Elaine Massacre memorial tree in Arkansas By Evann Gastaldo Posted Aug 26, 2019 2:48 PM CDT Copied In this June 15, 2019, file photo, men work near a monument under construction honoring victims of the Elaine Massacre that sits across from the Phillips County courthouse in Helena, Ark. (AP Photo/Noreen Nasir, File) Hundreds of African-Americans were killed in Elaine, Arkansas, in 1919 during the United States' horrifying "Red Summer." In April, a tree was planted to honor the Elaine Massacre victims—of which there could have been as many as 800, according to some estimates—but last week the willow was chopped down at its base, the Elaine Legacy Center says. The tree's memorial tag was also stolen. Officials are investigating who is responsible, the Guardian reports. Next month, the Elaine Massacre Memorial will be dedicated; located in a park across from the courthouse where "sham trials" related to the massacre took place, it will feature 8-foot walls and inscriptions, the Arkansas Times reported earlier this month. (Click for more on Red Summer and how the US is remembering it a century later.) Read These Next A Delta flight got wild with an allegedly unruly passenger. A Trump coin looks to be in the works, with legal questions swirling. Virginia's Dem nominee for AG is in hot water over 2022 texts. FBI parts ways with the ADL over Turning Point USA controversy. Report an error