What's The Problem With A whites-only community in Arkansas?
12Agroup of White Americans, members of the Return to The Land organization, established a “whites-only” community in northeast Arkansas. Sadly, this is not a historical narrative, but one unfolding in the modern era. The construction of this community is a reminder that, despite the Fair Housing Act of 1968, racism still affects where Black people can live. Leaders of this ethnonationalist group believe they’ve found a way around civil rights legislation. Rather than relying upon racially restrictive covenants and redlining, which are now illegal, they’ve created a private membership association to limit access to land. This is an effort to “control…who [their] neighbors are.” While this may appear benign when we consider this is taking place in a scarcely populated rural area, it opens the door for “whites-only” communities to spread throughout the country. Indeed, Eric Orwoll, a cofounder of the Return to the Land movement, said, “You want a white nation? Build a white town… it can be done. We’re doing it.” While the group claims its goal is to preserve the culture of White Americans, the echoes of Jim Crow are far too loud to ignore.
a thin veil for racism. But some have been less willing to concede this point. Indeed, many conservatives claimed these programs extended opportunities to unqualified candidates, heavily implying that anyone darker than a brown paper bag isn’t deserving. Yet, in a Return To The Land newsletter, representatives exposed the true intent of the anti-DEI movement, stating, “the general public has forced diversity upon us for decades.” This suggests that this group opposes integration. And since they cannot turn back the hands of time, and re-instate segregation across the nation, they’re fleeing even further than the suburbs, into rural, undeveloped areas, to avoid having a Black or Brown neighbor. This is no different than White people in the 1960s fighting to maintain segregation.
A Sky News documentary recently provided an insider’s look into the “whites-only” community in Arkansas. In addition to the openly racist statements…