In recent weeks, a whites-only "Return to the Land" community has sprouted up in Ozarks region of Arkansas and may soon expand into neighboring Missouri.
A few days ago, Arkansas Attorney General Todd Griffin made it clear this community would be tolerated stating, “Racism has no place in a free society, but from a legal perspective, we have not seen anything that would indicate any state or federal laws have been broken.”
Mr. Griffin cannot have it both ways. He cannot say there is no place for racism in a free society and then say he won't prevent racism from flourishing in his jurisdiction. I would say that establishing a community where Jews, persons of color and the LGBTQ community are forbidden from setting foot inside breaks several federal and state laws. However, I would not count on the Trump Administration to do anything about it. After all, the people living in these whites-only communities are part of their core constituency.
If this sort of community is tolerated in Arkansas, it will surely spread elsewhere in Arkansas and throughout the country. In which case, how long will it be before we have segregated restaurants, bathrooms, waiting areas, drinking fountains and other public facilities polluting our land? How long will it be before figures like Orval Faubus, who tried to prevent the integration of public schools, are celebrated once more?
This country seems determined towards self-destruction.
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