Whites-only community in Arkansas: What is it and is it legal?
By Brandon Evans
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SHARP COUNTY, Arkansas (KHBS, KHOG) — There’s a whites-only community in Northeast Arkansas. The 160-acre property near the town of Ravenden is a private membership association called Return to the Land. There are families living there now, and more homes are going up.
I spoke to the co-founder, as well as a longtime Arkansas civil rights attorney about this controversial new community.
“If people are interested and aligned with our values, they’re welcome to join,” Return to the Land President Eric Orwoll said.
He said about three dozen people live there now.
“It’s not all about are you white or not; it’s also, do you share traditional values, and whether you want to live with us here, do you get along with us,” Orwoll said.
You have to be accepted to live there. There’s an application process, including a questionnaire and an interview with the board of trustees.
I asked him how he would defend what he does here.
“We’re not trying to oppress any other group. In fact, we would want to help other groups also have their own spaces if that’s what they want,” Orwoll said.
I asked him if he understands why some people might see what he’s doing as racism.
“Sure. Of course. But I also don’t know exactly what racism is. The concept has shifted over the years. If racism is hating other groups of people, I would say we’re not racist. If racism is valuing your racial heritage and wanting to perpetuate it, well then by that definition, yeah, we’re racist,” Orwoll said.
Butch Dail lives in nearby Ravenden. He’s a city council member and the city’s fire chief. He’s said he’s not bothered by it.
“We live in a free country. I think they have a right to support their views the way they want to. Of course, we all have our different views,” Dail said.
Arkansas civil rights attorney Austin Porter Jr. says what they’re doing is against the law.
“It violates the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause. It violates 42 U.S.C. Section 1982 on the Civil Rights Act because those laws say that anybody enjoys the same rights to own, sell or possess land as enjoyed by white citizens,” Porter said.
Orwoll and the Return to the Land official website both say the community is a private club and therefore exempt from Title 2 of the Civil Rights Act on public accommodations.
That would have to be tested in court.
“In order for there to be a case, a lawsuit, there has to be what’s called a ‘case or controversy.’ Someone tried to obtain ownership, or someone tried to live in that particular area, they were denied, and at that point a lawsuit can be brought,” Porter said.
I asked him if there is something he has against people of other ethnicities.
“No. We are for European heritage. That’s our history. That’s where we come from. We want to perpetuate that. I think that’s very natural. I think all life basically wants to perpetuate what it is, so we’re trying to do that,” Orwoll said.
I asked him is it because he is honoring his ancestry or because he thinks his ancestry is better than another.
“Well, it’s mine and obviously I have a preference for it, but I wouldn’t say it’s superior to others in all respects. I think in general, societies get along better when people are more similar. The more dissimilar people are in a society, the harder it is to understand each other. And if you can’t understand each other, you can’t exactly predict what everyone’s going to do. And if you can’t predict what they’re going to do, it’s harder to trust them. And so multiracial, multicultural societies end up being lower trust and people become less sociable,” Orwoll said.
I responded by saying that America is a melting pot. It was built on people of different religious backgrounds and races co-existing.
“That’s not what it was built on. It was built by white Europeans, for white Europeans,” Orwoll said.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office would not comment, confirming only that they are investigating whether any laws are being broken.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders’ office released this statement: “Governor Sanders condemns discrimination and racism of any kind and is confident in the attorney general’s ability to investigate this matter.”
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