Cohousing-L Mailing List: A warning about "Intentional Community" RTTL

[Sara Gottlieb (sara.gottlieb]

Hello cohousers,

Because it's starting to get some high-profile attention, I thought
everyone who cares about the future of CoHousing and other Intentional
Communities should at least be aware of the activities of the "whites only"
Return To The Land (RTTL) movement.  This group thinks they can skirt fair
housing laws and establish communities in US States that exclude people
from races, religions, or ideologies they don't like and they are vocally
testing the laws at this particular time.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5419057-whites-only-community-return-to-the-land-missouri-arkansas/

https://news.sky.com/story/inside-the-whites-only-settlement-in-arkansas-the-group-building-a-fortress-for-the-white-race-13399875

Every time I see an article about them that refers to them as an
"intentional community" seeking fellowship and sustainable ways of living,
I get concerned that this will get mixed up with the CoHousing movement.  I
think it's a potentially significant risk that CoHousing may be put in the
same mental box by people who only skim headlines and make broad
assumptions.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone in the CoHousing movement at some point
is asked to explain how CoHousing is different from RTTL (shouldn't be
hard, but these things can easily turn into traps).

-- 

Sara J. Gottlieb
sara.gottlieb [at] gmail.com
Lake Claire CoHousing, Aatlanta, GA UsA