Red Summer 1919: Tree honoring black victims cut down in alleged crime
A willow tree memorializing the African American lives lost in a 1919 massacre in Elaine, Arkansas, in one of the deadliest racial conflicts in U.S. history, was chopped down this week in what some fear was an act of hate.
Mary Olson, president and founder of the Elaine Legacy Center, posted about the incident on Facebook Wednesday. "The Living Memorial, memorializing all those who lost their lives in the Elaine Massacre of 1919 was chopped down at the base today and the Memorial tag stolen," she said in the post.
Elaine Police Department Chief Alvin Scaife said the tree "appeared to be cut down," but that state authorities were handling the case. The Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, which manages the tree, did not respond Saturday morning to a request for comment. The Department of Justice could not comment on whether a hate crime investigation was underway.
More than 200 African American sharecroppers were massacred by a white mob in September 1919 in Elaine. Bloodshed spread throughout the country that year during "Red Summer," when hundreds of African American men, women and children were burned alive, shot, lynched or beaten to death by white mobs.
According to 2010 Census data, Elaine is home to 636 residents. The city is approximately 61% black, 37% white and 2% mixed race.
The Living Memorial tree, funded by the Elaine Legacy Center, was planted in April to memorialize the lives lost a century ago.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/red-summer-1919-tree-honoring-black-victims-cut-down-in-alleged-crime/ar-AAGhlVV?li=BBnbcA1
