Arkansas Whites-Only Community Plans Expansion Midwest, South

Return to the Land (RTTL), a whites-only private membership association founded in 2023 in northern Arkansas, is expanding its exclusive communities to other states, including Springfield, Missouri. The group, led by co-founder Eric Orwoll, restricts membership to individuals of European ancestry who share traditional values and excludes Black, Jewish, LGBTQIA+, and mixed-race people. RTTL's mission is to create racially exclusive communities where white Americans can live among like-minded people, a goal inspired by the whites-only town Orania in South Africa. Despite legal claims to the contrary, RTTL has faced strong opposition from civil rights groups and anti-defamation organizations concerned about the promotion of segregation, intolerance, and exclusion. Orwoll defends the effort as a form of free association and cultural preservation in response to demographic changes and mass immigration. The communities feature rural living with their own infrastructure, and the group aspires to establish a network of similar settlements across the U.S., including the Appalachian region and the deep south.