A federal lawsuit filed this week accuses an Arkansas land development group of rejecting a St. Louis real estate broker’s application to buy property because of her Jewish ancestry and her Black husband and biracial children.
The complaint, brought Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Arkansas on behalf of Michelle Walker, targets Return to the Land, its Ozarks chapter and five officers. It alleges the organization, which promotes itself as a private membership association for people of “traditional views and common continental ancestry,” is in fact seeking to create an all-white community in violation of federal and state fair housing and civil rights laws.
Walker, who is white and attends a Christian church, applied last year to purchase land in Ravenden, Arkansas, drawn by prices below market value. The town sits roughly 150 miles northeast of Little Rock and just south of the Missouri state line. During the application process she was asked detailed questions about her ancestry, religion and family, according to the suit.
Her Jewish heritage comes from her mother’s side. The lawsuit states that Return to the Land founders “must personally confirm that applicants are white before they are accepted” and are “explicitly attempting to establish an all-white community.”
“Its founders believe that white people are genetically superior to other races, advance the view that Jewish people are engaged in a plot to eliminate the white race, and advocate for segregated white communities for the purpose of creating a separate all-white nation state that will help avoid ‘white genocide,’” the lawsuit said.
Return to the Land did not respond to an email seeking comment on the allegations, according to The Associated Press. On its website the group describes its Ozarks Regional Chapter as covering parts of Arkansas, Missouri and eastern Oklahoma, with additional chapters elsewhere in the country.
The suit was filed by attorneys from the Relman Colfax law firm, the Legal Defense Fund and Legal Aid of Arkansas. It comes amid earlier reports that the organization had considered locations near Springfield, Missouri, for a whites-only community. In response, Springfield’s city council posted on Facebook last July that there was “no place in the city or anywhere for such a divisive and discriminatory vision.”
Similar concerns have surfaced in other states. In April, Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives passed House Bill 2103 by a single-vote margin of 101-100 to block the creation of whites-only housing communities after reports that Return to the Land intended to expand there. The measure now awaits action in the state Senate.
Walker’s case echoes a long history of housing discrimination in the United States. For decades, racial covenants in deeds and redlining practices prevented Black families and other minorities from purchasing or renting homes in certain neighborhoods. The current lawsuit argues that Return to the Land’s membership requirements amount to a modern version of those barriers.
Officials with the group have previously described their efforts as a private association exercise rather than a commercial real estate venture. The lawsuit, however, contends that the organization’s activities fall under fair housing statutes because they involve the sale of land.
Walker lives in St. Louis and works as a real estate broker. She reportedly learned of the Ravenden property through standard listings before encountering the group’s application process. The suit seeks damages and injunctive relief to prevent further alleged discrimination.
Legal observers note that cases involving private membership associations sometimes hinge on whether the group’s activities constitute housing covered by the Fair Housing Act. Return to the Land’s defenders have not yet issued a public statement on the pending litigation.
The complaint adds to ongoing national debates over housing access and exclusionary communities. Similar proposals have drawn scrutiny from civil rights organizations and local governments in multiple states over the past year.
Walker is represented by attorneys experienced in civil rights litigation. The case is expected to proceed through discovery in the coming months, with both sides likely to present additional evidence regarding the group’s membership criteria and application decisions.