The Barber of Little Rock: Building Community Trust Through Economic Trust

An Innovators Speaker Series event.

Arlo Washington draws on his journey from poverty to pioneering community banker to explore how economic trust is the foundation of thriving communities. Having created more than 1,500 jobs in Arkansas and chartered the state's first Black-owned credit union, Arlo speaks from a track record of real, replicable results — addressing the systemic disparities in banking and lending that leave low-income communities behind. Audiences will leave with a fresh, ground-level perspective on how community development, economic equity, and the simple act of trusting people can transform lives from the inside out.

Arlo Washington is a Little Rock-based entrepreneur, community banker, and economic justice advocate whose mission is to advance equity, create opportunity, and close the racial wealth gap. Starting from poverty, he apprenticed as a barber, opened his first shop at 20, and eventually founded Washington Barber College, which has created more than 1,500 jobs in Arkansas. Recognizing that his students and neighbors lacked access to fair financial services — living in an urban credit desert with no banks within a ten-mile radius — Arlo launched the nonprofit People Trust Community Loan Fund and, in 2022, chartered People Trust Community Federal Credit Union, the first minority-owned financial institution in Arkansas, through which he has lent $63 million to individuals and families in need. His story was featured in the 2024 Oscar-nominated documentary short "The Barber of Little Rock," financed in part by NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade. In his presentations, Arlo delivers an inspiring, ground-level perspective on community banking, economic inequality, and the power of investing in people as the foundation for transforming communities.

This lecture recording can be found on the Available Recordings page approximately two business days after the event and will remain accessible for three weeks.