State lawmaker responds to whites-only community potentially coming to Springfield
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A "whites only" community says they are looking at coming to the Springfield area. The group, called Return to the Land (RTTL), did not specify where in the Springfield area they were looking to potentially locate. "I don't think it's good for the city," said Springfield resident Mari Jo Miles. "We're a [...]

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A "whites only" community says they are looking at coming to the Springfield area.
The group, called Return to the Land (RTTL), did not specify where in the Springfield area they were looking to potentially locate.
"I don't think it's good for the city," said Springfield resident Mari Jo Miles. "We're a melting pot. We have all different cultures and all different people from different countries. I want it to stay that way."
According to RTTL's website, they are a private member association exclusively made for white people. Jewish people are also barred from membership.
They say they vet members through an application process based on European ancestry.
"There is no room in Springfield, no room in Missouri for a group to come and call home that sets us back decades and decades and allows segregation and racism and horrible, awful rhetoric to exist in our own community," said Missouri State Representative Betsy Fogle.
Fogle says she is unable to stay silent on this topic.
"We are a community that celebrates our differences and also our similarities," Fogle said. "And everything that this group stands for has no place in my hometown, no place in our state, no place in this country, and quite frankly, no place in the world."
Fogle says as a state politician, she believes every person in a position of power should be speaking up.
"We should all be using our platforms to make sure that we're communicating consistently and over and over again that there is no room in Springfield or no room in Missouri for a group to come and call home."
She says if they do come to Missouri, there would be a conversation within the legislature on the legality of a community like RTTL.
"I would expect our attorney general to do what the attorney general in Arkansas has committed to doing, which is to launch an investigation into the constitutionality and the legal validity of this group," Fogle said.
Miles says this type of community does not represent Springfield.
"I don't know if I would say they should be illegal," Miles said. "I just know I don't want them here."
Co-founder Eric Orwoll tells Ozarks First they are a private association that does not sell real estate.
In a statement, he said, "The attorneys we've consulted believe what we're doing is legal. Americans have the right to freely associate and form intentional communities on whatever basis they choose."
The group says they are solely based on "shared ancestral values". They say they don't believe in hatred or violence.
"I think we work hard on accepting groups (in Springfield) and we don't want anybody excluded and not just one type of religion or one type of culture," Miles said. "We want them all."
What's Your Reaction?






