A day after the City of Springfield issued a statement condemning a group’s intent to look into creating a “whites only” community in the area, another Springfield organization is speaking out. This comes after the group, Return to the Land, expressed interest in expanding from Arkansas into the Missouri Ozarks and specifically mentioned the Springfield area.
Springfield city leaders issued the statement Tuesday that said, in part, “Segregationist thinking has no place in our city’s present or future.”
Wednesday, the board of Inclusive Springfield, made up of local leaders and community stakeholders, issued its own statement. It said: “The Springfield community is home to a multilayered, colorful mosaic of cultures that is continuing to grow. We strive to be a community where the inherent dignity, value and worth of every member of our community is embraced. As our community continues to grow, we will continue to work towards being a place where all people feel valued and that they belong. The proposed ‘whites-only’ settlement by the group ‘Return to the Land,’ is discriminatory to many of our valued community members. This kind of divisive agenda is reflective of biased, outdated discriminatory practices which are contrary to the values of our community.”
The board said “we strive to be a community where the inherent dignity, value and worth of every member of our community is embraced.”
It urged others who feel the same way to speak out.
Inclusive Springfield is facilitated by Community Partnership of the Ozarks.
PFLAG Springfield/SWMO Wednesday also said it condemns RTTL’s expansion into the Springfield area and urged others to do the same. In a statement it said “Segregation is not one of our shared values and has no place here.” PFLAG works to support, educate and advocate for LGBTQ+ people and those who love them.
Eric Orwoll, the head of Return to the Land said in a video statement, "We believe that all Americans, regardless of their ethnic, racial or religious background, have the unalienable right to freely associate and peacefully assemble. We have the God-given right to form communities according to whatever values we hold dear, and the government does not have the right to tell free American citizens what values they have to live according to in their own private lives."
Story updated morning of July 31.
