News of a whites-only group seeking to establish a private community in Missouri is generating mounting opposition from a broad range of religious, civic and political leaders.
“Return to the Land is a white-supremacist group that wants to create a European-only development in the Springfield area,” said Susan Schmalzbauer, a United Methodist minister and interim executive director of Missouri Faith Voices.
Susan Schmalzbauer (Facebook)
The multi-faith organization and the NAACP of Springfield will host an Aug. 10 rally in the city’s downtown to promote love and inclusion and to dissuade Return to the Land from settling in the region, Schmalzbauer said.
“We just want them to know that they don’t reflect our values, and that hate is not welcome in Greene County, and hate is not welcome in the state of Missouri,” she stressed.
Return to the Land is a self-described “private membership association” for “white identitarians.” The group has a 150-acre parcel in northeast Arkansas, where several families live and new construction is under way.
Return to the Land has not disclosed where in Missouri it wants to locate, but its website presents a multi-phase strategy for establishing whites-only communities throughout the Ozarks region, the Southeast and Appalachia.
“We believe that white Americans all over the country deserve to have our own spaces if that’s what we want to do in our private lives,” co-founder Eric Orwoll said in a July 27 social media post.
The intention is to preserve the cultural and racial identity of white Americans whose population is declining, he said.
Eric Orwoll (Screencap)
“Return to the Land is not a supremacist group, it’s not a hate group, it’s not even a white-nationalist group,” he insisted. “We are white identitarians. We value our identity and want to preserve it. That’s not hate, that is love for your own people.”
Orwoll also blasted the bipartisan political opposition that has been generated by his group’s possible expansion into Missouri.
“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,” he said.
But politicians on both sides of the aisle have been pointed in their criticism of Return to the Land and any plans it has in Missouri.
“But the truth is simple: He’s a white nationalist trying to peddle racism in khakis instead of white pointy hoods.”
“Orwoll can dress it up however he wants — ‘white identitarian,’ ‘cultural preservationist,’ ‘patriot.’ But the truth is simple: He’s a white nationalist trying to peddle racism in khakis instead of white pointy hoods,” said State Rep. Jeremy Dean, who represents the Springfield area.
“I’m not scared of people who don’t look like me. My population is the human population — not just white Missourians, and certainly not just those with European ancestry,” he said.
Alex Riley (via X)
Springfield Republican and House Majority Leader Alex Riley was equally clear in his opposition to a Return to the Land enclave in the state, the Missouri Independent reported.
“Racism in any form is evil and reprehensible. Groups engaging in racist conduct are not welcome in Springfield,” he said.
Springfield’s city manager and City Council issued a joint statement opposed to any racially exclusive development in Missouri.
“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,” the officials said.
“Segregationist thinking has no place in our city’s present or future.”
“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.”
Tracey Wolff (Facebook)
The Aug. 10 interfaith gathering at the old courthouse in Springfield will showcase the kind of values Missourians share, said Tracey Wolff, a United Methodist minister and an executive team member of the NAACP of Springfield.
“What we have decided to do is simply say that we are faith leaders and others who share God’s vision of the beloved community that is inclusive of everyone,” said Wolff, who also serves as chair of the local NAACP’s religious affairs committee.
“For me, it has to do with God’s call to the nations and sharing the gospel with all people and that God’s love is God’s love for all, not for any particular people more than any other people.”
The unity exhibited among faith groups and government officials opposed to Return to the Land should inspire hope across the community, Schmalzbauer added.
“This goes to the kind of core, bedrock beliefs of who we are. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper, and we are that because we have a Creator and because all of us reflect God’s image.”
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