A group of white Americans, members of the Return to The Land organization, established a “whites-only” community in northeast Arkansas. 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 Sky News documentary recently provided an insider’s look into the “whites-only” community in Arkansas. In addition to the openly racist statements made by leaders, I found a response from a white woman, a waitress working at a nearby restaurant, jarring. While she did not live in the settlement, she shared her opinion with Tom Cheshire, the reporter assigned to the case. Although she had no plans to join them, she claimed the group had “a right” to form this community. Though unsurprising, it is concerning that some white folks are willing to sit silently by as segregated communities are formed. It puts a fine point on the dangers of so-called color-blind racial attitudes, because those who claim they do not see race will not acknowledge the harm of racism.
At times, white people openly discriminate against Black people and other marginalized groups, but they also use subtler tactics. For example, the civil rights division of the Department of Justice noted that providers often “disguise their discrimination by giving false information about availability of housing, either saying that nothing was available or steering home seekers to certain areas based on race.” Recently, I wrote about an essay discussing how homeowners’ associations and gated communities are used to maintain de-facto segregation. However, this community in Arkansas employed an entirely different method—one more Americans should be aware of. Since all applicants must be approved by a private board, they believe they can deny racial minority applicants. Whether they will face any legal challenges has yet to be determined. While it’s unlikely that any Black families would want to live near openly racist residents, we cannot ignore the implications—that this could be ground zero for a resegregation effort…