The City of Springfield issued a statement Tuesday in response to media reports about a group planning to create a “whites-only” community in the Springfield area.
The group is Return to the Land, which calls itself a private membership association for individuals and families with traditional views and European ancestry. The group’s website states that it helps groups of its members form European heritage communities. It’s building a homestead-style community on approximately 160 acres of land registered to Wisdom Woods LLC in Ravenden, Arkansas about an hour southeast of West Plains. Co-founder, Eric Orwell, told Ozarks First that it is considering expanding into the Springfield area.
The City said that Springfield City Council and City Manager David Cameron have been made aware of the reports and that “while no one from this group has contacted the City directly, we want to state in the strongest possible terms: there is no place in Springfield, or anywhere, for such a divisive and discriminatory vision. Efforts to create developments based on racial exclusion are not only contrary to our laws, it also runs counter to the spirit of who we are and who we aspire to be. Segregationist thinking has no place in our city’s present or future.
While it is improbable that such a project could legally or practically occur within city limits, silence is not an option. As a regional leader, we will not stand idly by in the face of attempts to revive outdated, harmful ideologies. Springfield moves forward by bridging differences, fostering belonging, and building a stronger, more united community for all.”
Return to the Land’s recent publicity has drawn criticism from the Anti-defamation League and Arkansas’ Republican attorney general.
